k 



. ,-. 



.^^ 



'^ 



-, V 



,^-^ 






^%- 



\ 



THE 



CiYiL War by Campaigns 



By ELI G. FOSTER 

Author op " Reference Manual and Outlines of U. S. History,' 
AND "Foster's Historical Chart'' 




-^ 



Chane & Company, Publishers 

ToPEKA, Kansas 

1899 



48584 



Copyright 1899, by 
Crane & Company, Topeka, Kansas. 



^1" 



'■.PIES RLCEIVED. 




nOvidid^ \ 


SECOND COPY. 


■^'^% ^-^ 


(JWo 


. \'^,'<^^. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Pages. 

1. Causes of the Civil War 7-28 

2. Opening Events of the War 29-35 

3. Naval AVar 36-50 

4. Coast Operations 50- 56 

5. War in Missouri 57- 68 

6. Grant's Campaign in the West 68-81 

7. The Opening of the Mississippi River 82-103 

8. Bragg's Invasion of Kentucky 104-117 

9. Chattanooga 117-131 

10. Sherman's March to Atlanta 131-148 

11. Sherman's March to the Sea 149-164 

12. McClellan's Peninsular Campaign 165-179 

13. Pope's Campaign 180-188 

14. From Antietam to Fredericksburg 189-196 

15. Chancellorsville 197-202 

16. Gettysburg 203-211 

17. Grant's Overland Campaign 211-226 

18. Sheridan and Early in the Shenandoah Valley 226-234 

19. Peace Commission, and Surrender of Lee 234-248 

20. Outskirt Movements 248-252 

21. Financial Measures 252-262 

22. Cost of -the War — National Debt— Closing Events 262-271 



LIST OF MAPS. 

Campaigns in Missouri o 60 

Forts Henry and Donelson 70 

Grant's Campaign in the West 74 

Island No. 10 84 

(3) 



4 CONTENTS. 

(rrant at Vioksburp 92 

Campaigns of Biiell and Bragg 1()6 

^Morgan's Raid 113 

Chattanooga 127 

Sherman's March to the Sea, and 1 Food's Retreat 142 

The Army of the Potomac 188 

Lee's Campaign in Virginia 203 

Battle of (lettyshurg 2(>4 



Il^^TRODUCTIOI^. 



Many good histories of the Civil War have heon written. 
Nearly all of them devote much space to the details of battles 
and campaigns, — a most excellent thing for those who wish to 
devote their time to a comprehensive stndy of the war. The 
following chapters have been prepared for those who wish a 
more condensed acconnt of the important events. 

The facts have been diligently collected from leading stand- 
ard works, and are presented in a new form. Instead of treat- 
ing the subject chronologically, as works generally do, the author 
has written entirely by campaigns. The movements of one 
army have been fully treated before the discussion of another 
has commenced. It is hoped that this method of treatment will 
be found both interesting and profitable. Indeed, this method 
of presentation of the subject to young men and young women 
in the school-room has resulted in awakening increased inter- 
est in the study of the great war, and has been the means of 
preventing many confusions that would otherwise occur ; and it 
has made the time spent in the study of the war more fruitful 
in result. 

The military campaign maps tracing the movements of the 
armies are entirely original, and have been prepared expressly 
for this volume. A careful study of the maps " Grant's Cam- 
paign in the West," " Campaigns of Buell and Bragg," " Sher- 
man's March to the Sea," and the " Army of the Potomac," 
will aid greatly in giving a clear and definite idea of the great 
theaters of the Civil War. The maps locating the battles and 
sieges have been copied from larger w^orks. All fanciful pic- 

(5) 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

tiiros liavc Ixvii iivoidod ; only maps iiit('ii(l(Ml to simidifv the 
study of ])attles, caiii])ai\iins, and the great movements of the 
armies, liave been inserted. 

But little attention lias been paid to the movements of the 
various cor]is of the armies n])on the field of battle. Too great 
detail has been purposely avoided. Those who desire this ])hase 
of the war are referrcMl to tlie eomprehensive works. 

!Many interesting minor (^'ents have been barely mentioned, 
some omitted entirely. The war was full of dramatic incidents. 
J^ooks might be written, and in fact have been written, upon 
them. ^Ty aim is to present here only the main faets of the war, 
with now and again an ineident appended to enliven and em- 
bellish the study of the movements of these ponderous armies in 
their Titanic struggles. 

It is lio]ie(l that the omission of technical t(»rms and the use 
of \]\v cani])aign methods of treatment, illustrated by the mili- 
tary eam))aign majis, will be the means of so simplifying the 
subject that even the casual student may gain a clear idea of 
the various campaigns of the war in the minimum of time. 

Ihit little attention is generally paid by the average person 
to the study of the sources of revenue, without which govern- 
ments cannot exist. The cha]iter on the financial measures to 
])i-o\i(le revenue for the war is inserted to su])i)lv at least an 
outline on the subject, and should elicit a more careful study of 
the financial question. 

If the book finds its way into the hands of those who have not 

the time to read noi' the means to ])rocure the numerous excellent 

comi)rehensive W(>rks on the Civil War, and aids in promoting 

a better understanding of this great epoch in the hist<n*v of our 

Nation, tlie mission of the author in writing the work will be 

fullv attained. 

ELI G. FOSTER. 
ToPEKA, Kansas. 



THE CIYIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL. WAR. 

Slavery and States' Rights were the two causes of the Civil 
War in the United States. They came before the people in a 
variety of forms, Avhich, in spite of repeated compromises, only 
widened the sentiments between the isTorth and South. The 
Missouri Compromise ^vas the first of a series of enactments and 
struggles between the two sections on the subject of Slavery. 
The election of Abraham Lincoln on a platform opposed to the 
extension of slavery was the last of the series, which grew more 
bitter and antagonistic until it culminated in the firing upon 
Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861. 

The ISTullification Act of South Carolina, in 1832, was the 
first serious manifestation of the doctrine of States' Rights, 
w^hich ended, finally, in the secession ordinances of the Southern 
States and precipitated the great American conflict. 

State Rights. — Different views were held by statesmen 
from the very beginning of our national history as to the nature 
of the bond which held the States together. It was maintained 
by one class of statesmen that the Union was a league or con- 
federation, which might be dissolved at the will of any of the 

(7) 



8 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

States. Under this theory a failure on the part of the General 
Government to protect tlie rights, expressed or assumed, of any 
of the States, entirely released these States from obligations to 
the Union, and restored them to their former position of sep- 
arate sovereign States. 

Another class of statesmen held that the Federal Union con- 
stituted a nation, Avith a strong central government, and that 
no State could secede from the Union without the consent of all 
the others. These were the different constructions placed upon 
the Constitution, from Avhich no serious conflict arose until cer- 
tain material questions came before the people for solution. 
Chief among these were those which related to tariff and slavery. 
The South, which was engaged entirely in agricultural indus- 
tries, demanded free trade. The North, which derived much 
of its wealth from manufacturing industries, called for protec- 
tion. When the Tariff Act of 1832 became a law, it caused in- 
tense opposition among the people of the South, and led South 
Carolina to declare the act null and void, and to threaten to se- 
cede from the Union if the Federal Government should endeavor 
to enforce the law. The prompt and vigorous action of President 
Andrew Jackson in sending troops to the rebellious State, re- 
stored order ; and Clay's compromise measure the following year 
pacified the leaders for a time. They however did not abandon 
the principle of secession, but only shifted it from the tariff 
issue, in w^hich they had scored a victory, to the much compro- 
mised and yet uncompromising issue of slavery extension. 



THE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 9 

Differences BETWEEiir the INTorth and the South. — The 
people who settled these two sections were entirely different in 
thought, habit, and customs. They sprung from different classes, 
though all were of English origin. The ]N'orth was settled by 
the Puritans, who fled from the oppression and religious per- 
secution of England in search of freedom and a purer system 
of faith and worship. The early settlers of the South were the 
Cavaliers, who were loyal to both the State and the religion of 
their king. The Puritans belonged to the middle class, — the 
yoemanry, the pride and support of England, — and came to 
establish homes for themselves. The Cavaliers belonged largely 
to the aristocracy and nobility, and came in search of wealth. 
The representatives of these two classes of society impressed 
themselves upon the development of the respective sections in 
which they settled, and moulded the customs and institutions 
for a more varied class of settlers who followed them. The 
character of the settlers in the l^orth, as well as the nature of 
the soil and climate, tended toward the cultivation of small es- 
tates. But the early settlers of the South brought with them 
from England the idea of large estates, which climate and the 
introduction of African slavery aided to perpetuate. The one 
section was strongly imbued with the love of liberty and a desire 
for equal opportunities for all. Eree schools Avere established, 
manufacturing sprung up, and cities multiplied. The other sec- 
tion became agricultural, and educational advantages were con- 
fined to the wealthy. This contrast in the character of the peo- 
ple, the difference in the industries of the two sections, and the 



10 THE' CIVIL WAR BY CAMrAIGNS. 

(liflFcrcnt conditions of cliniato and soil, making slave labor more 
profitable in the Sontli tlian in the ^N'orth, show how easily one 
section conld become slaveholding States and another free States. 

Growth of Slavkk-y. — Slavery was introduced in the col- 
onies in ir»10, at Jamestown, Virginia. The importation of 
slaves was continued, and at the close of the Revolutionary War 
the slaves in the States numbered 600,000, while there were 
about 50,000 free persons of color distributed through the col- 
onies. Europe in her greed for gain had woven slavery in her 
colonial jiolicy tliat her home revenues might be greater. There 
was not a colony without slaves, though they were more com- 
mon in the South than in the North. In vain had the Virginia 
House of Burgesses protested against the '^ inhumanity of the 
slave trade." The colony of South Carolina passed an act in 
1T('>0 ]iro]nl)iting the importation of slaves, but the British gov- 
ernment refused to sanction it. Other colonies had endeavored 
to place restrictions u]ion the trade, but without success. 

The invention of the cotton-gin by Eli Whitney (1793) 
greatly stimulated the demand for negroes and increased the 
importation of slaves. Before the invention of the cotton-gin, 
the process of sepai-ating the seed from the cott(m was slow, 
tedious, and expensive. By the use of this machine, one person 
could accom])lish the work of several hundred hands. The culti- 
vation of cotton was greatly extended, which made a demand for 
slave labor in the South, where cotton was grown, and increased 
the value of slaves. The number of slaves increased rapidly 
even though restrictions were ])hi('('(l upon slave traffic, and for- 



THE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 11 

eign importation proliibited bv law in 1808. When the Civil 
War began, the number of slaves in the United States was about 
4,000j000. Southern opinion, which in the early colonial day 
considered slavery an evil, gradually changed. Many had come 
to regard it as a great moral, social and political good, — an in- 
stitution ordained by Providence for civilizing and educating 
the black race. 

Movements towarb Freedom of the Slaves. — At the open- 
ing of the Civil War there were more slaves in the United States 
than in all other countries combined. These were all confined to 
the States south of Pennsylvania and of the Ohio river. All 
the Northern States had freed their slaves, either before the 
adoption of the Constitution or soon after it. Vermont took the 
lead, in 1777; Pennsylvania followed, in 1780; and eventually 
all other Xorthern States followed in abolishing slavery or pro- 
viding measures to effect its gradual abolition. The last to abol- 
ish it was Xew Jersey, in 1804. 

Though America is the " land of the free," slavery clung to 
its soil with greater tenacity than it did to that of European 
countries. Great Britain gave freedom to the slaves in her col- 
onies in 1838. Immediate emancipation of the slaves of the 
colonies of the French Government was decreed in 1848. Other 
European powers followed the example of Great Britain. Many 
of the South- American republics provided for the abolition of 
slavery — Mexico as early as 1829. 

Washington in his will provided for the emancipation of his 
own slaves. John x\dams believed that slavery should be " ex- 



12 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

tirpatcd from the United States." Jefferson, himself a slave- 
holder, declared, when speaking of tliis institution, " I tremble 
for my country when I remember that God is just." Patrick 
Henry, Franklin, Hamilton and Madison opposed the principle 
of slavery. 

!^[ost of the wisest and best men of the time, both North and 
South, looked forward with confidence and hope to the speedy 
abolition of an institution so averse to the principles of Chris- 
tianity and so dangerous to the interests of society and the state. 

The Northwest Territory, Organized 1787. — In 1787 the 
country including the present States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan and Wisconsin was organized into a Territory, Avliich 
was called the Northwest Territory. Freedom was guarantcn^d 
to this region by the insertion of this famous clause : " Neither 
slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist in this Territory, 
otherwise than in punishment of crimes." This anti-slavery 
clause was submitted three years before, by Jefferson, for the 
government not only of the Northwest Territory, but also for 
that south of the Ohio river. The slavery provision was rejected 
for the territory south of the Ohio river; and later, four slave 
States — Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi — were 
formed out of it; while the territory to the north of the Ohio 
was permanently attached to the principles of freedom. 

Missouri Com promise of 1820. — In 1803 the b<:>undaries of 
the United States were extended to include that vast region west 
of the Mississippi river to the Ivocky Mountains, known as the 



THE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 13 

Louisiana Territory. Of the various States afterward formed 
out of this region, Missouri was the first to apply for admission 
to the Union. The main question concerning the admission of 
this State was whether it should be free or slave. 

Before the abolition of slavery in the ITorth and the admission 
of the free States north of the Ohio, slavery had not become a 
sectional affair. Many in the South during the Revolutionary 
period believed in the gradual emancipation of the slaves. But 
sentiment had undergone a change; their chief concern became 
the perpetuation of the institution. Sectional lines were being 
definitely drawn on slavery as an issue. A new epoch in the 
history of slavery was instituted when Missouri applied for ad- 
mission to the Union as a State, in 1819. "Kie^ South endeav- 
ored to extend slavery to new territory, while the IsTorth opposed 
it. The discussion was long and acrimonious. It was the real 
beginning of the great political struggle out of which came the 
Civil War. 

The famous Missouri Compromise provided : 

1. That Missouri should be admitted to the Union as a slave 
State. 

2. That slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punish- 
ment of crime, should be prohibited in the remaining part of 
the Louisiana Purchase lying north of latitude 36 degrees 30 
minutes, which formed the southern boundary of Missouri. 

3. ISTo provision was made relative to the admission of the 
Territories south of this line; but as slavery already existed 
there, they were tacitly surrendered to the slave-power. 



14 ^ THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Maine was admitted as a free State, on the principle that one 
free and one shive State should be admitted at the same time. 
The compromise from which so much was expected settled noth- 
ing. The Southern people continued to feel and to act as if 
they had been hindered in the exercise of their rights. 

Mexican War, 1845-48. — Mexico declared itself independent 
of Spain in 1821, and established a republic. In 1829 the Pres- 
ident of Mexico proclaimed the abolition of slavery within the 
limits of his territory. Texas refused to comply. The slave- 
power of the United States sent money, supplies and arms to 
Texas^ and aided in stirring up a revolution w^ith the express 
purpose of annexing more slave States to the Union. Sam Hous- 
ton, former Governor of Tennessee, headed the revolution, and 
in 183i» Texas became a Republic, independent of Mexico. The 
next year she applied for admission to the Union, but opposition 
in the House and Senate, exposing the duplicity with which the 
Jackson administration had acted toward Mexico, for the time 
silenced the agitators for annexation. It was not long, however, 
until another effort was made to extend the slave territory. A 
joint resolution annexing Texas received the President's sig- 
nature, March 1, 1845. It also pledged the faith of the United 
States to permit new States to be formed of this territory, not 
exceeding four. Texas thus became a full-fledged State in the 
Union, and President Polk sent troops to occupy the territory 
between the rivers Nueces and Kio Grande, which Mexico 
claimed as her soil. In the war which followed, the territory 
now comprising the States and Territories of California, Ne- 



l-HE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAK. 15 

vada, Utah, Arizona, I^ew Mexico, and a portion of Colorado 
and Wyoming, Avas ceded to the United States. 

The Compeomise of 1850 (the Omnibus Bill). — In 1850 
California applied for admission to the Union as a free State. 
This created a stir among the slaveholding States. The angry 
menace to harmony and unity again appeared. The primary 
object in annexing Texas and conducting the Mexican War was 
tEe"acquisition of slave territDry. The ^V illnot .Proviso, exclud- 
ing slavery from all territory acquired as a result of the war, 
"after bitter discussion was voted down. Igith the admission of 
"'Arkansas in 1836 as a slave State, came the admission of Mich- 
igan as a.free State. With the admission _of_ Iowa as a free 
State, the equipoise of slavery was maintained by providing in 
the same bill for the admission of Florida as a slave State, 
though its population was not near the number required for the 
j ^ admission of States. The admission of free Wisconsin balanced 
i that of slave Texas. Tlie adjni^sipn_Qf^ California as a free 
Sjtate w ould d isturb the equilibrium between the free and slave 
States, and give to the [N'orth the most substantial benefits of 
the Mexican War and defeat the object for which it had been 
waged. A great political struggle ensued. Threats of secession 
were rife. Fiery and impassioned eloquence filled the air, in 
the midst of which, Clay came forward with his compromise bill. 
The bill was stripped of provision after provision, until, when 
passed, it provided for the territorial government of Utah, and 
nothing more. The rejected provisions were afterward taken 
up one by one as a special order of business, and passed with but 



^' 



16 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

little change from the original bill. The Omnibus Bill was re- 
created. The following were its provisions : 

1. California should be admitted as a free State. 

2. ISTew States not exceeding four might be formed out of 
Texas. The people of each State were to decide for themselves 
whether such State should be free or slave. 

3. Texas should be paid $10,000,000 for her claim on l^e\Y 
Mexico. 

4. Utah and Xew Mexico should be organized as Territories 
without mention of slavery. 

5. Slave trade should be prohibited in the District of Co- 
lumbia. 

6. Slaves escaping from their masters into free States should 
be arrested and returned to them. 

The last clause is called the " Fugitive Slave Law," the pass- 
age of which caused intense opposition in the !N'orth. Personal 
liberty laws were passed by l^orthern States, prohibiting state 
officers from giving aid in the arrest and return of any slave. 
Counsel was provided for the arrested negroes, and the practical 
operation of the fugitive slave act annulled. 

The passage of the Omnibus Bill was the death-knell of the 
Whig party; and instead of pacifying the feelings of the con- 
tending elements, it contained in its provisions the seeds for new 
and greater conflicts. 

The Kawsas-N'ebraska Bill, 1854. — In 1854 Stephen A. 
Douglas introduced a bill which provided for the organization 
of two Territories, known as Kansas and Nebraska. The peo- 



THE CAUSES OF THE CIVJL WAR. 17 

pie of these Territories were to decide for themselves whether 
the^StEtes should come into the Union free or slave. It vir- 
tually repealed the Missouri Compromise, which guaranteed 
freedom to this section, and a territory nearly as large as the 
thirteen original States was opened to slavery. Of the two Ter- 
ritories, Kansas was the more southerly, therefore the more fa- 
vorably situated for the planting of the institution of slavery. 

Kansas thus became the battle-ground for the contending 
elements of freedom and slavery. Great preparations were made 
both [N'orth and South for the settlement of the State. Pro- 
slavery societies, known as Blue Lodges and Social Bands, were 
formed from the South. Pro-slavery immigrants poured into the 
new Territory from Missouri. The Emigrant Aid Society was 
formed by EU Thayer, of Worcester, Mass. By means of it and 
similar societies, a stream of anti-slavery emigrants was sent to 
Kansas. At the elections, a great many Missourians crossed the 
border, intimidated election officers, and cast thousands of il- 
legal votes for the pro-slavery candidates, who thus received a 
large majority of all votes cast. The anti-slavery settlers, who 
had cast a majority of legal votes, repudiated the election, and 
chose their own officers. With^two rival Legislatures, and with 
the opposing parties of freedom and slavery bitterly contending 
for supremacy, matters soon drifted into civil war in the new 
Territory. The burning of houses, sacking of towns, and the 
taking of life continued for several years. This bloody drama 
awakened the conscience of many persons to the real intent and 
purposes of the slave-power. Although the pro-slavery party had 

— 2 



18 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

tlio moral and inat(M-ial support of the President and cahinet, the 
State was finally w<»n to the cause of freedom, and was admitted 
to the Union in 1801. 

Dkkd Scott T)i<:cision, ISoT. — Dred Scott was a neoro slave, 
who was taken bv his master, Dr. Emerson, from the State of 
^Missouri to the free State of Illinois ; thence he was taken to Fort 
Snelling, near the present site of St. Paul. From the latter 
place, in which he married with his master's consent, he was 
taken l)ack to ^lissonri in 1(S38, where with his wife and children 
he was sold to John F. A. Sanford. Dred Scott sued for the 
liberty of himself and family; alleginc: that his residence in a 
free State and in a Terr i tor jjfrom which slavery was excluded by 
the Missouri Compromise, established his freedom. An action 
for trespass, brought in a St. Louis court, was decided in Scott's 
favor, which was reversed by the Supreme Court of the State. 
The case was then taken to the Federal court. Able counsel 
represented both sides. The case ceased to be of a personal in- 
terest only, and assumed national importance as a contest for 
constitutional principles between the slavery and anti-slavery 
parties. Both the Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United 
States decid(Ml against the freedom of Scott. In the final de- 
cision, the court affirmed lliat '' no negro, slave or fvvo, who was 
of slave ancestry, was entitled to sue in the C(mrts of tlie I'liited 
States." 

After denying its own jurisdiction of the case, the court 
passecl u)>oii the mei'its, and jn-oeecdcd lo discuss the constitu- 
tionality of the ])oinls wliieli were of interest to the opp(>sing 



THE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 19 

parties. It declared the Missouri Compromise was unconstitu- 
tional ; that slave-owners could carry their slaves into any of the 
Territories, and that the people of those Territories could not 
lawfully hinder them; that a negro was not a citizen, and by 
terms of the Constitution could not become a citizen of the 
United States. A mandate was issued directing the suit to be 
dismissed for want of jurisdiction. Dred Scott soon obtained, by 
grace of his master, that freedom which the courts denied him. 

By this decision of the Supreme Court, which is considered 
the most infamous of all its decisions, slaves could be taken any- 
where, and slavery made national. Instead, however, of extend- 
ing the institution, as w^as the intention of the judges (a 
majority of whom w^re from slave States), it united the people 
of the Xorth in a more determined opposition to the extension 
of slavery. 

Anti-Slavery Publications. — The opinions on the slavery 
question separated the people of the North and South. The 
effort on the part of the South to extend the institution was the 
source of the most bitter friction between the two sections. A 
majority of the people of the ^North at the time of the Missouri 
Compromise had not thoiight of ajjolishing slavery in the South- 
ern States ; in fact, this was not their intention at the beginning 
of the Civil War. There were some inspired souls in the E^orth, 
however, who at an early date devoted their talents to the aboli- 
tion of slavery. Some of the most prominent deserve mention. 
The press and the platform were used with great effect to arouse 
the public conscience to a realization of the great national wrong. 



20 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

The "Liberator," a weekly journal published by William 
Lloyd Garrison, then a youth of twenty-six, appeared in Boston 
in IS^^^l. The spirit of the paper is indicated by liis words in 
the first issue : 

" I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as jus- 
tice. On this subject, I do not wish to speak or think or write 
with moderation. No ! Xo ! I am in earnest — I will not equiv- 
ocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — and 
I will be heard ! " 

He was dragged through the streets of Boston with a rope 
around his body; he was threatened with death if he did not 
desist ; but he still continued to publish his paper and to organize 
abolition societies, until the great wrong he assailed was eradi- 
cated. 

Frederick Douglass, a runaway slave from Maryland, edited 
the '' North Star " at Rochester, JSTew York. 

Rev. Elijah P. Love joy attempted to establish a religious and 
anti-slavery paper, first at St. Louis, Mo., and then at Alton, 111., 
1835-37. Three times in one year a pro-slavery mob destroyed 
his press. While engaged in setting it up a fourth time, a pro- 
slavery mob attacked him. While defending his property, he 
was killed. 

John G. Whittier, the Quaker anti-slavery poet, whose burning 
lyrics flew across the country and moulded sentiment against 
slavery, narrowly escaped death at the liands of a mob at Con- 
cord, N. II., in 1836, while attending an anti-slavery meeting. 



THE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



21 



Of tlie literary forces that aided in directing sentiment against 
slavery, the most weighty was the book " Uncle Tom's Cabin/' 
written by Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe. It first appeared as a 
serial in the " N^ational Era," an anti-slavery newspaper at 
Washington, D. C, bnt attracted little attention. The great 
book houses were afraid to publish it lest it should hurt 
their Southern trade. A new house in Boston published it, in 
1852. It at once attracted great attention, and became one of 
the most popular novels ever written. Whittier wrote to Garri- 
son : ^'What a glorious work Harriet Beecher Stowe has wrought ! 
Thanks to the Tugitive Slave Law. Better for slavery that that 
law had never been enacted, for it gave the occasion for ' Uncle 
Tom's Cabin.' "" The sale of the book was almost without limit, 
at home and abroad. Its greatest success, however, was its moral 
weight in unifying and antagonizing the i^orthern conscience to 
the iniquities of the slave-power. 

" The Impending Crisis of the South " was an argument 
against slavery on moral and economic grounds. Its author, 
Hinton Rowan Helper, was one of the non-slaveholders of the 
South, who pleaded for the rights of his class. The book at the 
time created quite a strong sensation. 

The constant discussion and agitation aroused fears and ani- 
mosities. The mails were regularly searched in many Southern 
postoffices, and any anti-slavery literature was taken out and 
burned. '^Abolitionist " became the severest term of reproach in 
the South. The churches became violently agitated over the 



22 THE CIVIL WAR 1?Y (AMrAIGNS. 

burning issue. Methodist, IJaptist and Presbyterian clcnoniina- 
tions separated, Nortli and South, on the subject of slavery. 

From tlio intluence of ])latforni, })ul})it, society, and jn-ess, ar- 
rayed against the encroaching steps of slavery ui)on tlie terri- 
tory formally dedicated to freedom, there came a crystallized 
sentiment expressed in the princi2)les of the Republican party 
in its platform of 1856. 

A.nti-Slavkky Pakties.— In 1840 the " Liberty Party " put 
a national ticket in the field. James G. Birney was nominateUr 
but received only a small vote. Four years later he received 
more than (52,000 votes on the same ticket. The party favored 
the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and in all 
national territory. It favored the repeal of the Fugitive Slave 
Law, favored the prohibition of slavery in new Territories and 
new States, was opposed to the internal slave trade, and opposed 
the annexation of Texas. Its adherents joined fortunes Avitli the 
Free-Soil party in 1848. 

The " Free-Soil party " was organized by bolting Whigs and 
Democrats, who held advanced views on the slavery question. 
It was joined by the followers of the old Liberty party. Among 
some of its leaders were Charles Francis Adams, SaluKm P. 
Chase, Charles Sumner, William IL Seward, John P. Hale, 
John A. Dix, and Henry Wils(m. 

The Presidential candidates in 1848 and 1852 received a 
considerable po])ular vote, but not sufiieient to carry the elect- 
ors in any State. 

It advocated non-interference with slavery where it already 



THE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAK. 23 

existed, but opposed all compromises with slavery, or the forma- 
tion of any more slave territory, or the admission of any slave 
State. 

The Republican Party. — The constant and resolute aggres- 
sions of the slave-power called forth an equally aggressive free- 
soil movement in the North. Whigs, Wilmot-Proviso Demo- 
crats, and the Free-Soilers united to form a new party, to pre- 
vent the spread of slavery into new territory. The various 
elements opposed to slavery were thus skillfully and smoothly 
kneaded into the new Republican party. John C. Fremont was 
the first candidate for President. He received 114 electoral 
votes; Buchanan, 174; and Fillmore, 8. This formidable vote 
might well have carried dismay into the pro-slavery columns. 
The election of Buchanan on a pro-slavery platform gave the 
South little ground for complaint, but as events have shown, it 
afforded them an opportunity to prepare for war. Through the 
treachery of the Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, and the in- 
difference of the administration at Washington, large amounts 
of arms, ammunition and stores w^ere transferred to the South. 

When the time came to choose a President, the people were 
divided into four parties. The Republicans nominated Abra- 
ham Lincoln on the platform that there was no law for slavery 
in Territories, and no power to enact one, and that Congress 
was bounds lo prohibit it in or exclude it from all Federal ter- 
ritory. -John C Breckinridge was nominated by the Southern 
Democracy, on a platform distinctly favoring the extension of 
slavery. Stephen A. Douglas was nominated by the JSTorthern 



24 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

l)einooraoy, on a platform wliicli would leave the people free 
to decide the slavery question for themselves in each Territory. 

The Constitutional Union party nominated John Bell, of 
Tennessee, on this platform : " The Constitution of the country, 
the Union of the States, and the enforcement of the laws." The 
popular vote decided against the extension of slavery. In the 
electoral college, Lincoln received 180 votes, Breckinridge 72, 
Bell 39, and Douglas 12. 

The slavery question was the issue in the campaign. 

John Brown's Baid, 1859. — John Brown was an abolition- 
ist. He moved to Kansas in 1855, in time to become a conspic- 
uous figure in the thrilling scenes of that State. Five of his 
sons had settled near Osawatomie the year before, and all took 
up the cause of freedom. Slavery would no doubt have tri- 
umphed over legal and legislative skill, had not the sword been 
thrown into the balance by such bold and resolute men as Brown. 

After peace had been restored in Kansas, he conceived the idea 
of freeing the slaves of the South. Settling on a small farm 
near Harper's Ferry, he began secretly to collect material for 
executing his designs. lie with twenty-one associates appeared 
before Harper's Ferry on the night of October lOth, 1859, and 
easily overpowered the guards and took possession of the ar- 
mory there, belonging to the United States. He expected to 
create an uprising among the slaves, arm them with the guns 
stored there and liberate the negroes of the South. 

Between forty and fifty citizens were captured and confined 
in the armory l)y him. Some slaves were liberated. The people 



THE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 25 

of the town, arming themselves, made an attack on the insur- 
gents. The U. S. Marine, commanded by CoL Robert E. Lee, 
arrived. The militia commenced to pour in. Thirteen of 
Brown's men w^ere killed, two of whom were his sons. Two of 
his men escaped, and the rest were captured. Brown himself 
was dangerously wounded. 

He was speedily tried before a Virginia court, and was exe- 
cuted on December 2, 1859. His execution for this wild and 
erratic scheme reflects little credit upon the elements of human- 
ity and generosity of the officers of Virginia, when we consider 
that Jefferson Davis and his followers suffered no such fate for 
conducting the stupendous campaign of the great Rebellion. 

Brown died a martyr to the cause of liberating an enslaved 

people. His spirit was present in many a battle which followed, 

and many a regiment was stirred by the words of the popular 

war song — 

*' John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave, 
But his soul is marching on." 

Secession-. — As soon as it became known that Lincoln was 
elected. South Carolina called a convention to consider an ordi- 
nance of secession, which was unanimously passed on December 
20, 1860. Commissioners were sent to the other cotton States 
to urge them to follow in the same course. 

President Buchanan gave encouragement to the Southern 
cause by his vacillating action. His message to Congress in 
December, 1860, which was strongly disunion in character, con- 
tained these words: ^^After much serious reflection, I have 



26 THE OIVFI. WAR BY CAMPAKiNvS. 

arriv(Ml nt tlu- coiiclusioii that no power has boon delog-ated to 
r<>ni»Te8s, or to any other (h'])artiiK'nt of the Federal Govern- 
iiiciit, to coerce a State into submission whicli is attempting to 
withdraw or lias withdrawn from tlie Union." He might well 
have proHted by Jackson's vigorous measures a third of a cen- 
tury before, when S(>uth Carolina threatened to secede. 

]\lississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, 
Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, withdrew from 
the Union in the order named. Four slave States — Delaware, 
Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky — did not secede. In these, 
sentiment was divided between the ISTorth and the South, with 
the preponderance in favor of the former. 

The ordinances of secession were followed quickly by the seiz- 
ure of the United States forts, arsenals and custom-houses in the 
seceding States, and by the formation of a Confederate Govern- 
ment. The capital was located at Montgomery, Alabama. Jef- 
ferson Davis was chosen President and Alexander II. Stephens 
Vice-President. Southern officers resigned their places in the 
Congress and the Cabinet, and in the Army and Navy. 

The constitution of the Confederate States was a close pattern 
of that from whose banner they had withdrawn, except that it 
made slavery the corner-stone of the new system, and forbade a 
protective tariff. 

Crittenden CoMrROMisE, December, 18G0. — A Senate com- 
mittee, composed of men of different j)olitics and from different 
sections of the country, made a last efT(n't to patch up a scheme 
by which slavery and freedom might work out their ambitions 



THE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 27 

together. The patriotic John J. Crittenden, who was a member 
of the committee from Kentucky, submitted the scheme. It of- 
fered guar anties against arbitrary abolition of slavery by Con- 
gresg iji.the slave States, or in places once within their limits, 
such as forts and navy-yards. It restrained Federal interfer- 
ence with the interstate transportation of slaves. It bound the 
United States to provide payment for fugitive slaves when local 
violence j^revented their return. Itadvised Northern States 
to repeal their personal liberty laws. But its main feature was 
to establish, by constitutional amendment, the Missouri Com- 
promise line (36° 30'), running east and west across the con- 
tinent, as a permanent barrier between the free and slave States. 
All efforts to reconcile the conflicting opinions proved futile. 
The vital points were rejected by members from the N^orth and 
South alike. 

Inauguration of Lincoln, March 4, 1861. — Abraham Lin- 
coln was inaugurated March 4, 1861. From his home in Spring- 
field, 111,, to Harrisburg, Pa., he was everywhere received with 
demonstrations of loyalty. He delivered addresses to the people 
of the capitals and other large cities of the States through 
which he passed. Baltimore was not only a slaveholding city, 
but was infested with a large number of persons who were loud 
and fierce in their denunciation of Lincoln and the principles 
which he represented. Frequent reports were heard that a 
plan had been concocted for the assassination of the new Presi- 
dent as he passed through the city. His friends persuaded him 



28 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

to go to Washington on a special train, in advance of the one on 
which his passage had been announced. 

Lincoln^s inaugural address was an able state paper. It was 
an admirable eflFort to calm the ardor of the South for disunion, 
without compromising any of the principles of the party which 
had elected him. The following detached sentences will express 
Lincoln's views on some of the leading issues of that hour : 

" I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with 
the institution of slavery in any of the States where it exists." 

" The power confided in me will be used to hold, occupy and 
possess the property and places belonging to the Government." 

" I shall take care, as the Constitution expressly enjoins upon 
me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all 
States." 

" Xo State, upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out 
of the Union." 

" In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen,' and not 
in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government 
will not assail you." 

The olive-branch of peace was accepted by the conspirators 
as a challenge to war. 



CHAPTER II. 

ope:n^ing events of the war. 

Capture of Fort Sumter, April 13, 1861. — The seceding 
States at once began to seize all forts, arsenals, and national 
property of every description for the use of the Confederacy. 
Major Anderson, of the U. S. Army, was occupying Fort Moul- 
trie with a force of but ten men. Fearing an attack by the 
secessionists in Charleston, he withdrew his command, on the 
night of December 26, 1860, to Fort Sumter, situated on an 
island in the harbor, a stronger position than the one which he 
had abandoned. Fort Moultrie was immediately occupied by 
the authorities of Charleston. The fort was strengthened and 
batteries erected, and preparations begun for the reduction of 
Fort Sumter. The national authorities instructed Major An- 
derson not to interfere with -this hostile proceeding. Early^ 
in January, an unarmed vessel, the Star of the West, carried 
troops and supplies to reinforce Fort Sumter. When within 
sight of the fort it was fired upon from the Confederate batter- 
ies, and was obliged to turn back. 'No effort was made by the 
Government to avenge this insult to the national flag. The 
Confederates organized an army, most of whose officers had 
abandoned the Federal service. Gen. Beauregard was placed in 
command of their forces at Charleston. All supplies of food 
from Charleston were cut off from Major Anderson by the Con- 
federates. The [N^ational Government began to make prepara- 

(29) 



30 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

tions to roj)lt'iiis]i the supply of food, without wliicli tlic fort 
would soon liavc been stjii'vcMl into capitulation. Gon. Beaure- 
gard was instructed to demand the surrender of Sumter, and in 
case of refusal, to reduce it. 

The powerful batteries which had been throwTi up all around 
it, opened fire upon the fort. The bombardment continued 
thirty-four hours. Anderson made a spirited defense, but was 
compelled to surrender after his ammunition was nearly ex- 
pended, provisions consumed, magazine surrounded by flames, 
and other damage wrought to the fort. The surrender was made 
on the 13th day of April. 

The next day the fort was evacuated, and the troops embarked 
for l^ew York. 

Xot a man was killed on either side during the engagement. 
But while preparing to salute the lowered flag, as the garrison 
took its departure, a premature explosion occurred, which killed 
one Federal soldier and wounded three others. The joy of the 
South was complete^ on^eceiving the news of the surrender of 
Fort Sumter. 

Call for Troops, Apkil 15, 18(11. — Xews of the attack ui)on 
Fort Sumter dispelled all hopes for peaceful solution of the 
slavery question. Hitherto the President had IiojxmI for recon- 
ciliation. War was cominenced_]2y_the military seizui'c of the 
national, fort. Lincoln accepted the issue of war thus forced 
upon the country. On April 15tli he issued a call for 75^000 
troops, to serve for three months, and summoned Congress to 
assemble Julv 4th in extra session. News of the fall of Sumter 



OPENING EVENTS OF THE WAR. 31 

awakened sentiments of the most entluisiastic loyalty in the 
I^ortTiern States, and the response to the President's call was 
prompt and patriotic. Within two weeks , 300,000 men__offered 
themselves to preserve the Union and defend the flag. The 
whole ^orth became a. great camp of preparation. The loyal 
States niadejibei-al appropriationrfor the public defense. Be- 
fore the lapse of forty-eight- hours, a Massachusetts regiment, 
armed and equipped, was on its way to Washington. jPennsyl- 
vania volunteers reached that city on the 18th, and soon troops 
^vere on their way to the capital from all Northern States. 

The authorities at Montgomery were no less active. The call 
for additional troops was responded to with great enthusiasm. 
Only seven of the Southern States had seceded before Lincoln's 
call for troops. After this, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas 
and Tennessee cast their fortunes with the Confederacy. The 
Confederate capital was moved to Richmond, as soon as Vir- 
ginia seceded from the Union. 

On the 19th of April, the anniversary of the battle of Lexing- 
ton, as the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment was on its way through 
Baltimore, it was attacked by a mob, which killed three soldiers 
and wounded others. The troops fired into the mob, killing 
eleven and wounding several. Intense excitement prevailed. 
Other troops, yet unarmed, were assailed. Baltimore was vir- 
tually in control of the secessionists, but the approach of Gen- 
eral Butler's command, and the gathering courage of Unionists 
brought the rebellious city to its senses. 

Col. Ellsworth, in command of the New York Fire Zouaves, 



32 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

moved down tlio Potomac to Alexandria. !N"o resistance was met 
at this point. Seeing a Confederate flag waving from the Mar- 
shall llonse in Alexandria, he stepped in with four of his men 
and took it down. Passing down stairs, he w^as met by Jackson, 
the hotel-keeper, who shot Ellsworth dead on the spot. Jackson 
suifered a like fate, for he was instantly shot by one of Ells- 
worth's men. 

Events ix West Virginia. — The northwestern part of the 
State of Virginia, comprising one-third of its area, had for 
many years been at variance with the rest of the State on ques- 
tions arising from the institution of slavery. When Virginia 
seceded, an opportunity was aiforded this portion of the State to 
separate itself from the dominating influence of slavery. Ac- 
cordingly, the people of that section called a convention, dis- 
avowed the act of secession, established a loyal government, and 
took" steps to be admitted to the Union as a separate State called 
West Virginia. 

Movements were at once set on foot to protect the new^-born 
State in her efforts to aid the Union. Gen. George B. McClellan 
was placed in command of a Federal force, w^ith Gen. W. S. 
Rosecrans as his second. The Confederates were defeated at 
rhill])])i and at Kich Mountain, and ])ractically lost all power 
in the State. These events, though at the time important, 
must be regarded as merely a prelude to the first great battle, 
which was soon to be fought. 

After these successes in West Virginia and the Union defeat 
at Bull Kun, (m'h. McClellan was promoted to the connnand of 



OPENING EVENTS OF THE WAR. 33 

the Army of the Potomac, and Eosecrans left to confront Robert 
E. Lee, who w^as sent to retrieve Confederate losses in that 
State. Great results had been expected from Lee's presence, but 
after several minor engagements in which he exhibited none of 
that vigor which characterized his later campaigns, he was trans- 
ferred to other fields. 

., Battle of Bull Ruisr, July 21, 1861. — The South prepared 
to prevent the advance of the Union troops into Virginia. Gen- 
eral Beauregard, fresh from his glories at Fort Sumter, led a 
strong Confederate column to Manassas Junction, and posted it 
behind Bull Run creek. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, retreating 
from Harper's Ferry, took a position at Winchester, ready to 
cooperate w^ith Gen. Beauregard. This line of defense was 
extended to the Potomac. 

Gen. Winfield Scott, the hero of the Mexican War, was Gen- 
eral-in-chief of the LTnion forces. He was too old and infirm 
to take the field for active service. Gen. Irwin McDowell was 
placed in command of the army, which commenced the forward 
movement. The Union General Robert Patterson confronted 
Johnston. Arlington Heights, Lee's old home, opposite Wash- 
ington, was seized by the Union troops and strongly fortified. 
The armies of both sides consisted of raw militia and volunteers. 



hastily brought together and without military experience. 
Gen. Scott argued for time to drill the new recruits before at- 
tempting an advance. E^orthern newspapers were impatiently 
calling for the movement of the army. The cry, "On to Rich- 
mond ! " was taken itp by Congressmen and Senators. The 



34 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. * 

pressure on tlie Government became too strong to be resisted. 
Secretary Salmon P. Chase was the champion in the cabinet 
of the intense feeling in the I^orth for a prompt and vigorous 
campaign. Public sentiment became irresistible, and in response 
to it, the army advanced, about 35,000 strong. The Confeder- 
ates had at their command about 30,000 men. Patterson was 
directed to prevent Johnston's army from going to the rescue 
of'their comrades at Bull Run, a task which he did not succeed 
in doing. On the 18th of July the Union advance found a 
Confederate force at Blackburn's ford, on Bull Run, and after 
a sharp conflict the Federals fell back to Centreville. On the 
21st they resumed their march, and fought the Battle of Bull 
Run, or Manassas Junction. The conflict opened at about 
10:30 in the morning. McDowell bore heavily on the enemy's 
left, hoping to drive it from the stone bridge, to make himself 
master of Manassas Gap, and to prevent the junction of John- 
ston's reinforcements. He did not know that 8,000 of John- 
ston's men had arrived the day before. By three o'clock the 
enemy had been driven back some distance, when the remaining 
brigade of Johnston's army, under the immediate command of 
Gen. Kirby Smith, arrived by rail. Cheer after cheer burst from 
the Confederate forces as their fresh ranks rushed to the front. 
The Union columns broke, rushed down the hillside, and all ef- 
forts to re-form them were of no avail : the retreat was continued 
in confusion to Washington. The three-months men, whoseterm 
of enlistment had expired^ went home. A shadow of gloom was 



OPENING EVENTS OF THE WAR. 35 

cast upon the Nortli ; the spirit of triumph and confidence upon 
the South. 

The Confederates did not attempt an active pursuit. Their 
army was much demoralized, not in a condition to engage in a 
campaign against the defenses at Washington. The Confeder- 
ates lost about 2,000 killed and wounded, while the Union loss 
was about 3,000, many of whom were prisoners. The disaster 
t^ught_ the lesson so many in the E'orth needed to know — that 
the war would be long, bloody, and costly. At once movements 
were ^ut_giL_fQot for a gigantic struggle by both rival govern- 
ments. 



CHAPTEE III. 

NAVAL. WAR. 

Brief History of the Growth of J^aval Science before 
THE Civil War. — Until the year 1840, naval science Jbad made 
but little progress. Ships were essentially the same as they had 
been for the last two himdred years, and naval warfare was con- 
ducted on the same principle. A few improvements had taken 
place, but none of any great importance. The introduction of 
steam as a motive power in 1840 marked the beginning of a new 
era. The next thirty years witnessed great improvement. Sail- 
ing-vessels were abandoned for the improved steamers. The 
ram again came into use as a powerful weapon of destruction. 
Th& Greeks and Eomans had used a ram on their galleys with 
great effect. When sailing-vessels superseded the galleys, this 
engine of warfare fell into disuse. The introduction of steam 
again revived the use of the ram, with greatly increased power. 
The manufacture of guns had undergone a great change. Their 
-oaliber was increased. Breech-loading and rifling came into use. 
Greater range, accuracy and penetration were obtained. The 
sides of vessels, hitherto unprotected, were shielded by two-inch 
iron plate, which was gradually improved until the vessels 
were armored with solid masses of steel, 22 inches thick. In 
fact, the whole system of naval tactics underwent a change. 
The improvement began with the introduction of steam as a 

(36) 



NAVAL WAR. 37 

motive power, but only reached its culmination in the trials and 
emergencies of the Civil War. 

The E'avy of 1861. — At the outbreak of the Rebellion our 
navy was not in a condition to render the effective assistance 
which the occasion demanded. The total number of vessels in 
the service of the Government at the time was ninety. Fifty of 
these were sailing ships, and, splendid as they had been in their 
day, they had noAv become almost useless. Forty were propelled 
by steam. Most of these were in foreign ports, or laid up in the 
navy yards. Only eight vessels were ready for immediate use — 
those of the home squadron ; and only four of these were steam- 
ers. More than two hundred officers resigned their commissions 
and hastened to join their fortunes with the Southern States. 

The Government began the work of collecting a great navy. 
Six hundred vessels were demanded at once for blockading the 
Southern coast and for operating against Confederate privateers. 
Six screw-frigates, constructed in 1855, commanding the ad- 
miration of naval men at home and abroad, were the chief re- 
liance of the Government. They proved of little value, however, 
because they were unable to enter the shallow w^aters of the 
Southern coast. The vessels in foreign ports were called home. 
Those in the navy yards were soon made available. The mer- 
chant marines, though of limited facilities, afforded an oppor- 
tunity for improvising a naval force. 

The South entered upon the war without any navy, and with 
limited resources for creating one. Had it not been for the aid 
from England, acting contrary to the^iglits of a neutral nation. 



38 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

but little daiiia^^o would have been done to the commerce of the 
North, and little resistance offered to the naval force of the 
Union. The Confederate government seized several revenue- 
cutters and lighthouse-tenders, belonging to the United States; 
but these were of little value. The Merrimac, which was sunk 
on the abandonment of Norfolk, w^as raised by Confederates, 
and for a time threatened much harm. 

Object of the Navy. — The navy with its limited resources 
had a weighty task imposed upon it at the very beginning. Its 
objects may be included nnder several heads : 

1. It was to blockade the entire coast of the Confederate 
States, a distance of nearly three thousand miles. 

2. It was to aid in the opening of the Mississippi river and its 
tributaries. 

3. It was to acquire control of all bays and sounds from the 
Chesapeake to the Rio Grande. 

4. It was to protect the commerce of the United States, de- 
stroy or capture all Confederate cruisers and blockade-runners. 

5. It w^as exjoected to capture all forts along the coast and 
seaports, and to aid in the movements and campaigns of the 
armies within cooperating distance along the coast. 

Abandonment of Norfolk, April 21, 1861. — Norfolk, 
located about twelve miles from Fortress ^Monroe, was abandoned 
by the Federals in the early spring of 18G1. It was the seat 
of one of the prin('ij)al navy yards of the Nation. At this time 
there were four war vessels lying there, which could have been 



NAVAL WAR. 39 

prepared for sea in a short time. One of these was the frigate 
Merrimac, which, after being converted into an ironclad, 
made such havoc at Hampton Roads. There were also several 
old vessels of no great value in the yards. The inhabitants of 
l^orfolk and vicinity had become very hostile toward the Govern- 
ment. Many of the officers were disloyal to the Union. Doubts 
and indecision characterized the minds of those who were loyal. 
And without any good reason, the ships and buildings were fired 
and destroyed, and N^orfolk abandoned on the 21st of April. 
The greatest misfortune to the Union was the loss of at least 
1,200 fine guns, which were used to man the forts of the Con- 
federates from the Potomac io the Mississippi. Had it not been 
for the guns taken at N^orfolk and Pensacola, the Confederates 
could not have armed their fortifications for at least a year 
after the ojDening of hostilities. The destruction of the navy 
yards seems to have been the result of a panic, for there was 
no imminent danger to warrant this action. 

After remaining in possession of the Confederates about one 
year, ITorfolk was evacuated by them with as little reason as 
that which led to the departure of the Union authority. 

The. Blockade. — The first order for the blockade of the 
Southern ports was issued by President Lincoln April 19, 1861. 
The blockade was a military measure of great importance. At 
the breaking-out of the war the South was destitute of ships, 
machine-shops, rolling-mills, and gun factories. England, on 
the other hand, was both capable and desirous of furnishing 
arms, munitions of war, ships, and clothing, in exchange for the 



40 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAKiNS. 

raw cotton grt)\vii in the South. Without this couimiTciiil iii- 
toreoursc between Great Britain and the Confederacy, the Con- 
federate cause would he greatly weakened, and many of the 
uianufactories of Enghmd closed. 

All available ships of every description and from every 
source were drafted into service for the momentous task of 
blockading the coast from the Chesapeake to the Eio Grande. 
The force thus hastily gathered, though not at first fully equal 
to the task imposed upon it, became in time entirely effi- 
cient, and virtually sealed the Southern ports from foreign 
commerce. It is true, some blockade-runners escaped the vigi- 
lance of our vessels and carried on a contraband trade with the 
South. 

Blockade-Runners. — With the blockade of the Southern 
ports the price of cotton in the South fell to eight cents a pound, 
while in England it rose to fifty cents per pound. Commerce 
between the two countries became a profitable business to those 
who succeeded in running the blockade. Ilegular ^^ blockade- 
runners " were constructed. They w^re long, low steam vessels 
of great speed, which drew but little depth of water. Their 
hulls were only a few feet out of water. They burned anthracite 
coal, which made but little smoke. Their trips were made be- 
tween the Confederate States and Nassau, the ca])ital of the 7>a- 
liama islands, which was the center from which (Jrc^at Britain 
carried on commerce with the South. The blockade-runners 
carried the cotton to Nassau and the West Indies, where it was 
taken upon vessels headed for England, while they returned with 



NAVAL WAR. 41 

the cargoes of British goods to feed and clothe the Southern 
armies and equip the Southern troops. Appearing off the coast 
on a dark night, they would make a dash past the blockading 
vessels, and land their cargo in a Confederate port. 

During the war, 355 of these vessels were sunk, burned, or 
otherwise destroyed, and 1,119 vessels were captured, many 
of which were equipped by the Government for blockading pur- 
poses. The total number of vessels taken and destroyed was 
1,504, valued in a low estimate, at $30,000,000. 

CoNFEDEEATE Cruisees. — Tliesc cruiscrs were a class of 
armed vessels sent out to destroy the commerce of the North. 
They were called " commerce destroyers," and cruised the seas, 
generally the highways of commerce, in search of the Union 
merchantmen, which were to be found in all the ports of the 
world when the war opened. The Confederate cruisers had no 
ports to which they could take their prizes. Their own officers 
constituted their courts of admiralty. When a merchantman 
fell into their hands, it was set on fire and burned. 

The adventures of these cruisers began with the escape of the 
Sumter, which ran the blockade at the mouth of the Mississippi 
in June, 1861, and entered upon a memorable career. She was 
under the command of Captain Semmes, who afterward became 
famous as the commander of the Alabama. 

After the Sumter had taken many prizes, the Federal Govern- 
ment sent several vessels in search of her, but only one of these 
was fast enough to overtake her if sighted. Finding that Fed- 
eral cruisers Avere on his track. Captain Semmes left the Carib- 



42 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

bean sea and crossed the Atlantic. The career of the Sumter 
terminated at Gibraltar. Two Federal gunboats were watching 
for lier; her coiuiiiander was unable to purchase any more coal, 
and thus the Sumter was finally laid np at Gibraltar, while 
Captain Semmes and some of his officers went to Southampton, 
England, in search o'f a better vessel, with which to renew their 
depredations. The Sumter afterward became a blockade-runner, 
and later was wrecked off the coast of China. 

The Trent Affair^ 1861. — The San Jacinto, commanded 
by Captain Wilkes, was one of the vessels in search of the Sum- 
ter. While at Havana Captain Wilkes learned that two Con- 
federate envoys were on their way to arrange, if possible, for the 
recognition of the Confederate States. 

They were Mr. John Slidell, a prominent Southern lawyer, 
and Mr. James Murray Mason, the author of the Fugitive Slave 
Law, chosen to represent the Confederacy at France and Great 
Britain. Escaping from Charleston on a dark night in a small 
vessel, they arrived at Havana. There they boarded the British 
mail-steamer Trent, and set out for Europe. Captain Wilkes 
determined to intercept them. When the Trent arrived in the 
Bahama Channel, where he had been on the watch for her, he 
stopped the vessel, boarded her, seized the Confederate envoys 
Nov. 8, 1861, over the protests of the English captain, and 
carried them and their secretaries as prisoners on board the 
Jacinto. The prisoners were taken to Massachusetts, and there 
confined in one of the forts of Boston harbor. 

No law would sanction the seizure of the envoys. It had not 



NAVAL WAR. 43 

been long since England had claimed the supposed right to 
search vessels belonging to another nation, and the United States 
resisted it in the War of 1812. England had formally given 
up the claim in the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, 1842. Great 
Britain denounced this act of Wilkes with great vehemence, 
demanded the surrender of Messrs. Mason and Slidell and an 
apology from the United States. The House of Representatives 
extended a vote of thanks to Captain Wilkes for his arrest of 
the traitors Slidell and Mason, and public clamor heartily 
approved his course. War seemed imminent between Great 
Britain and the ISTorth. But the wiser councils of Abraham Lin- 
coln prevailed. " We cannot abandon our own principles," 
said he. ^^ We shall have to give these men up and apologize for 
what w^e have done." Accordingly the envoys were released, 
January 1, 1862, and set sail for Europe. 

Public feeling raved a great deal on both sides. The English 
public believed that the American statesmen had yielded only to 
avoid an open rupture, while the Americans believed that Eng- 
land had made an offensive and unwarranted display of force. 
The Confederates had been rejoicing over anticijDated trouble 
between the N^orth and England. By the return of the envoys 
the whole trouble was settled without an appeal to arms, but it 
left, for a time, an impression of hatred on both sides, which 
was intensified by the sympathy manifested by the ruling class 
of England for the Southern cause. 

The Eloeida. — Great Britain became the naval base of the 
Confederacy. Her ship-builders were preparing a privateer 



44 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

navy for the Confederacy as fast as tliey could work. Xearly all 
tHeXtelif e^efate Tessels of any service were constructed in Eng- 
lish dockyards. 

The first privateer which became formidable to the commerce 
of the Xorth was the Florida, called in her early history the 
Oreto. The Florida was built at Birkenhead, nominally for the 
use of Italy. The American minister had learned her real des- 
tination^ and warned the British government against letting her 
go. The Florida sailed for Nassau (Bahamas) under the^ British 
flag, Avitli _every prepara tion for the reception of gTins and 
munitions of war,, which were brought on another vessel, and 
taken to Grand Key (an uninhabitable island of the Bahamas), 
and equipped f or the woid^of _a_cmiser. The British flag was 
hauled down and the Confederate flag hoisted. Within three 
months she had burnt thirteen vessels, and taken two for 
use as Confederate cruisers. After roving the sea for more 
than two years, she was captured by the United States cruiser 
Wachusett in the neutral harbor of Bahia, Brazil. Both vessels 
had permission to remain in the harbor for forty-eight hours 
to coal and for repairs. The Wachusett crashed into the Florida 
and opened fire upon her, which comjx'llcd lier to surrender. 
She was to\v:ed out to sea. The cai)ture of the Florida was a 
violation of the rights of neutral nations. 

The Government disavowed the act of Collins, commander of 
the Wachusett, and offered a[»ologies to Brazil. The vessel and 
crew were to be returned to Ualiia, bnl she was snnk by an "un- 
foreseen accident,'' neai- llaiii[)t(»n Koads. 



NAVAL WAR. 45 

The Alabama. — Of all the Confederate cruisers, tlie Ala- 
bama Avas by far the most famous. She was built at Birkenhead, 
near Liverpool, by the house of Lairii,-expressly for Confederate 
service. While under process of construction she was called the 
" 290." It was not until she had put to sea and hoisted the Con- 
federate flag, and Captain Semmes appeared on her deck in full 
Southern uniform, that she took the name Alabama. 

During her career she captured sixty-six ISTorthern vessels. 
Her plan was always the same. Hoisting the British flag, and 
decoying her intended victim within reach, she would suddenly 
raise the Confederate colors, and capture her prize. An Ameri- 
can captain saw far off in the night the burning flames of a 
vessel. Hastening to rescue the crew of the burning ship, he was 
made prisoner by the Alabama, which still remained in the same 
waters as the ship which he had burned. 

The Alabama did not do much fighting. She 2:>reyed upon 
merchant vessels that could not fight. Only twice did she engage 
in any conflict. The flrst time was with the Hatteras, a small 
blockading ship, which was sunk in a short time. The second 
encounter took place off the coast of Cherbourg, France, June 
19, 18G4, with the United States warship Kearsarge, whose 
size and armament were about equal to her own. In an hour the 
Alabama was completely shattered, and went down with many 
of her crew killed and wounded, ^o one was killed on board 
the Kearsarge — though three men were wounded, one mortally. 
Captain Semmes and thirty-eight others were picked up by the 
British ship Deerhoundjjhai ..had been hovering around to wit- 



46 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

ness the battle. Instead of communicating with Captain John 
A. Winslow, of the Kearsarge, after the rescue, the Deerhound 
pursued a hasty flight to England. The destruction of the ^^ter- 
ror to American commerce" caused great rejoicing in the North, 
but the escape of her commander took from the victory a reason 
for the happiest applause. 

Merrimac and Monitor, Battle between, March 9, 1862. 
After the abandonment of Norfolk by the Federals, the Con- 
federates took possession of the navy yard, and began to make 
use of what had not been consumed by the flames. Among the 
ships burned was the frigate Merrimac. The lower part of her 
hull and engines and boilers were practically unhurt. The ves- 
sel was raised, and rebuilt as an ironclad. Her sloping sides 
were covered with a double coating of iron plates, each two 
inches thick. A cast-iron ram projecting four feet was attached 
to the bow of the vessel, which was rechristened the Virginia, 
by the Confederates. 

The news of the construction of this formidable ironclad led 
tlie Government to exert every effort to complete the Monitor in 
season to meet the first movements of the Merrimac. Corre- 
sponding efforts were made by the Confederates to have the 
latter vessel completed first, to make a raid upon the wooden 
vessels of the United States which were blockading the Chesa- 
peake. This extra effort resulted in preparing the Merrimac 
for use one day in advance of her little antagonist. 

In the harbor off Fortress Monroe at that time, were the 
Union frigates Minnesota, Roanoke, St. Lawrence, and several 



I 



NAVAL WAR. 47 

gunboats. Off Newport ISTews, seven miles above, whicli was 
strongly fortified by a Federal garrison, were anchored the 
frigate Congress and tlie sloop Cumberland. These vessels car- 
ried heavy batteries and were excellent vessels of their kind, but 
were not calculated to stand against an ironclad. Realizing that 
he could not be harmed by these war vessels, the commander of 
the Merrimac, on the 8th day of March, 1862, steamed leisurely 
into the midst of the Union vessels and began the work of de- 
struction. Steering straight for the Cumberland and Congress, 
he struck the former vessel in the side at right angles, and made 
a great opening into which the water poured. The brave crew 
of the Cumberland continued the unequal contest with as much 
heroism as was ever seen in naval battle. Driven from the lower 
deck by the water, they continued to operate the pivot guns on 
the upper deck, until the vessel went down with colors still 
flying. The Congress grounded ; and, in her helpless condition, 
she was compelled to surrender, and was consigned to the flames 
by the Confederates. The ebb tide and approaching night pre- 
vented the Merrimac from making an attack on the remaining 
Union vessels, so she retired to SewelFs Point, a few miles away, 
to anchor for the night, with the expectation of completing the 
work in the morning. It is probably no exaggeration to say that 
the Confederate ironclad could have destroyed all the wooden 
vessels at that time in the Federal navy, had they been within 
reach, and unsupported by fort or monitor. 

At 9 p. M. the Monitor made its appearance. An atmosphere 
of gloom pervaded the fleet. The pygmy aspect of the ^ ^cheese- 



48 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

box/' as the ]^^(>llito^ was called, did not inspire mncli confidence 
among those who had seen the destrnetion of the Cnmberland 
and the Congress. She took a station amid wreck and disaster, 
near the ^linnesota, which was agronnd. On Sunday morning, 
March d, the Merrimac moved from anchor to attack tin- 
^Minnesota. The little Monitor moved forward to meet her, 
while the wooden vessels turned and fled. Then commenced one 
of the greatest naval combats recorded in history. It revolu- 
tionized the navies of the Avorld, and introduced a class of iron- 
clads in place of the vulnerable wooden vessels. 

The conflict ^vas long, furious, and at close quarters ; neither 
vessel was very seriously injured. The Merrimac withdrew, 
however, to l^orfolk in a leaking condition, while the Monitor 
remained in possession of the field. The former guarded the 
James river, the latter protected the Chesapeake. On the 
evacuation of J^orfolk by the Confederates, in May, 18G2, the 
Merrimac was destroyed. The Monitor Avent dowTi in a storm at 
sea while on her way to Charleston, and only a few of her crew 
were saved. 

The jMonitor Avas designed by Captain John Ericsson, who 
was a native of Sweden. lie served in the army and navy of 
that country, pursued the profession of an engineer in England, 
and came to America in 1839. The Monitor consisted of a 
small iron hull 124 feet long, 34 feet wide. On the top of the 
hull was a boat-shaped raft, covered with iron plates. On the 
toj> of the deck therci was mounted a turret, '20 feet in diniiictcr 
and nine feet high, covered with eight one-inch iron ])lates riv- 



NAVAL WAR. 49 

eted together. She carried two 11-inch guns, which, as the 
turret revolved, could be used to fire in any direction. The 
Merrimac carried ten guns. 

The Monitor was built at !N"ew York for coast defense, but 
when news of the formidable character of the Merrimac was 
received, her construction was hastened to meet the Confederate 
ironclad. The voyage to the Chesapeake was a tempestuous one. 
Again and again she was almost sunk, but after an exciting trip, 
in which she heard the booming cannons at a distance, and saw 
the sky lit up by the burning Congress, she entered Hampton 
Roads in time to end the destructive career of the Merrimac. 



—4 



CIIAPTEK IV. 

COAST OPERATIONS. 

Hatteras Inlet Surrendered, August 29, 1861. — Gen. 
Benjamin F. Butler and Commodore Stringham were sent from 
Fortress Monroe with sealed orders, on an expedition against 
Hatteras Inlet. Butler was in command of the land forces, and 
Stringham directed the naval expedition. This was the first of 
a series of movements against the Southern coast. Hatteras 
Inlet commanded the entrance to Pamlico Sound, whose waters 
became a favorite rendezvous for traders engaged in blockade- 
running. The Inlet was defended by Forts Hatteras and Clark. 
The bombardment of these was commenced August 28, 1861, 
and renewed the next day, when the Confederates hoisted the 
white flag. The secrecy of the expedition had been so well kept, 
that for several days the blockade-runners, seeking Confederate 
shelter, fell an easy prey to the Union troops who had taken 
possession of the forts. The 615 prisoners who fell into Union 
hands were taken to New York harbor. The commands oi 
Hawkins and Weber were left to garrison the forts, and Gen 
Butler returned to the North and commenced tlie organization 
of an expedition directed against New Orleans. 

Confederate Attack upon Fort Pickens, October, 1861. 
At the breaking-out of the war, Pensacola was seized by the 
Confederates without a struggle. Lieutenant Slemmer was 

(50) 



COAST OPERATIONS. 61 

ordered to surrender Fort Pickens, on Santa Rosa Island, com- 
manding the main entrance to Pensacola harbor. By the fidelity 
of this officer, the fort was saved to the Union. Soon after the 
fall of Fort Sumter, reinforcements were sent to the defenses 
of Pensacola. Gen. Braxton Bragg assembled a formidable 
force there during the early part of the war, and threatened an 
attack upon Fort Pickens. Finally after months of delay a 
Confederate force left Pensacola on the night of Oct. 9, 18G1, 
and, crossing the bay, made an attack upon Fort Pickens. The 
movement was un successful, and the invaders were driven from 
the island. 

ExPEDITIOiq" AGAINST PORT PoYAL AND THE SeA IsLANDS, 

OcTOEER AND ISTovEMBER, 1861. — On October 29tli a naval 
and military expedition numbering 10,000 men left Hampton 
Roads for the Southern^ coast. Thomas W. Sherman (not Will- 
iam T. Sherman) commanded the land forces and Commodore 
S. F. Dupont was in command of the fleet. After a stormy pas- 
sage, in which four transports were lost and two disabled, they 
arrived at Port Royal, South Carolina. Fort Walker, on Hil- 
ton Head, was captured by the fleet, and Beaufort, South Caro- 
lina, was abandoned by the enemy. By the combined efforts of 
the fleet and army, the whole chain of islands which form the 
coast of South Carolina and Georgia fell into Federal possession. 

The Fall of Roanoke Island, 1862. — Another land and 
naval force, against Roanoke Island, North Carolina, was fitted 
out early in the year 1862. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside and 



52 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Com. L. ^r. Goldsborougli were in command of the 12,000 men 
sent on this expedition. Gen. II. A. Wise commanded the Con- 
federate forces. !Mnch dehay was occasioned by the fact that 
many of the transports were of too great draft to permit a 
passage throngh the shallow waters of the Sound. This delay 
afforded the enemy an opportunity to strengthen the fortress. 
At length, after the loss of several vessels, which were grounded 
and wrecked by a storm, an entrance to Pamlico Soimd was 
effected. The Confederate fleet was pursued to Elizabeth City, 
and destroyed. The forts of Roanoke Island were taken, Feb. 
7tli and 8th, after some desperate fighting. The Union men 
waded waist-deep through a pond of water that protected one of 
the batteries. The Confederates abandoned their work and at- 
tempted to retreat, but were overtaken, and 2,500 were com- 
pelled to surrender. The Federal loss was 50 killed and 250 
wfumded. 

Edenton, Wintom, and many of the settlements on the Sound 
yielded to Union authority. Xewbern, one of the most impor- 
tant seaports of North Carolina, Avas taken March 14th, after a 
vigorous defense. Beaufort yielded without resistance. Fort 
Macon, after a boml)ardment, surrendered April 25th. Nearly 
tlic whole of the coast of North Carolina tlius lay at the mercy 
of the victors. The chief result was the closing of the Confeder- 
ate ports and the suppression of their commerce. 

Gen. Burnside's forces were eventually taken, for the most 
part, to Alexandria, to aid Gen. Pope in his campaign against 
Lee. Gen. John G. Foster was left in conmiand of the depart- 



COAST OPERATIONS. 



63 



ment of l^ortli Carolina, with barely sufficient forces to hold the 
points which had been taken. 

Soon after the recovery of Port Royal and the adjacent isl- 
ands, Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore was directed to move against 
Fort Pulaski, on Cockspur Island. After a bombardment of a 
day and a half, the fort surrendered, April 11, 1862. Gen. 
Hunter, who succeeded to the command of Sherman, on May 
9th proclaimed South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to be 
under martial law, and the slaves of these States free. This 
declaration was overruled by President Lincoln, as was Fre- 
mont's proclamation in Missouri. 

Gen-. Weight in Flohida, Maech, 1862. — While Gillmore 
was before Fort Pulaski, Commodore Du})ont and Gen. 11. G. 
Wright Avere making conquests in Florida. St. Augustine, 
Jacksonville, and other places Avere abandoned by the enemy 
on the approach of the Union forces. Pensacola was evacuated, 
and everything of a combustible character was burned before 
the departure of Gen. Jones, its commander. 

A strong Union sentiment was manifest in the State after the 
departure of the 10,000 men who joined the Confederate army. 
A convention was called to assemble at Jacksonville, April 10, 
1862, to organize a Union State Government. To the dismay of 
those Avho were engaged in it. Gen. Wright prepared to with- 
draw his forces two days before the day on which the conven- 
tion was called. In consequence, the Union feeling made little 
manifestation, and the Confederate supremacy was maintained 
to the close of the war. 



54 the civil war by campaigns. 

Expedition into New Mexico by tjie Confederates, Feu- 
RUARY, 18G2. — The Confederate Gen. Siblej led an expedition, 
early in 18G2, against the Federal forts of New Mexico, these 
forts being under the command of Gen. Canby. He advanced 
up the llio Grande with considerable physical difficulty, and 
defeated Canby's regulars in several combats. He fcunid that 
he could not maintain himself in that desert region ; so he 
abandoned Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and other places ho had 
taken, and conducted a disastrous retreat. 

Movement against Charleston, 1863. — Charleston re- 
mained in undisputed possession of the Confederates until the 
spring of IS 03. The engagements of the turret monitor led to 
the belief that a fleet of these could force a passage through 
Charleston harbor. Accordingly, in April, Admiral Dupont 
and Gen. Hunter led a fleet of seven of these ironclads in the 
experiment. The vessels carried 32 guns; the opposing forts 
possessed an aggregate of 300 guns. Torpedoes and other ob- 
structions were placed in the harbor. The heavy fire concen- 
trated upon the vessels compelled them to return. One of them 
was sunk after being struck 99 times, of which 19 were below 
the water-line. All the rest were more or less damaged. The 
forts suffered but little damage. All effort to pass them was 
now abandoned, and operations were directed against the harbor 
and adjoining islands. Gen. Hunter was sui^erseded by Gen. 
Q. A. Gillmore, and Admiral John A. Dahlgren soon relieved 
Admiral Dupont. Gen. Gilhnore and Admiral Dahlgren at once 
set on foot operations looking to a systematic campaign against 



I 



COAST OPERATIONS. 56 

Fort Sumter and Charleston. A landing was effected on Morris 
Island in July, and the enemy was driven to Fort Wagner. 
Several furious assaults were made upon it, at great cost to the 
Union arms, as they loft 1,500 dead and wounded upon the 
treacherous sands. The Confederate garrison, however, evac- 
uated the island in September. 

The army and the fleet opened fire upon Charleston, Sumter, 
and the other forts. Fort Sumter was practically demolished. 
Many shells were thrown into the city of Charleston, and many 
buildings greatly injured by the slow bombardment which was 
kept up to the end of the year. Further operations were sus- 
pended, and Charleston remained in possession of the enemy 
until, the approach of Sherman's victorious hosts in the spring 
of 1865. 

Mobile Bay, Summer of 1864. — Mobile Avas the only sea- 
port of importance on the coast of the eastern part of the Gulf. 
There were several channels in the bay, the entrances to which 
were protected by Forts Morgan, Gaines, and Powell. The 
coast was of such a character as to make blockade-running easy, 
and many blockade-runners escaped the vigilance of the block- 
ading fleet by passing along the shallow waters of the coast. The 
city of Mobile became an important rendezvous for their traffic. 

After the fall of Vicksburg, Farragut was directed, in June, 
1864, to prepare his vessels for an attack on Mobile bay. In ad- 
dition to the forts the bay was defended by four vessels, one of 
which was the ironclad Tennessee, the most formidable vessel 
ever built by the Confederates. Torpedoes and obstructions had 
been placed in the water. 



66 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Farragut arranged his fourteen wooden vessels, two alu'east, 
lashed them together, supported on their flanks hy four moni- 
tors. As they neared the forts every gun that could be brought 
to bear uj^jon the approaching fleet thundered forth its echoes. 
The concentrated fire from the vessels was directed toward the 
forts, and many of the gunners were either killed or driven to 
cover. The monitor Tecumsch, in the lead, was struck by a 
torpedo and sunk. Except this single loss, the fleet succeeded in 
l)assing the forts and obstructions without serious damage. 
No sooner was the combat with the forts at an end, than a new 
one began with the Tennessee. Steaming from the protection 
of Fort Morgan, she was met by the vessels from the Union 
fleet. She was pounded by the guns from the monitors, and 
rammed at full speed by the larger vessels, in a terrific struggle, 
until her case became hopeless. She raised the white flag and 
left Farragut in control of Mobile bay. Five thousand troops 
under General Gordon Granger had already been landed to the 
rear of Fort Gaines, which surrendered August 7th; and Fort 
Morgan on the 23d. ISTo innnediate attempt was made for the 
capture of Mobile city, for the surrender of the forts served the 
purpose of the Government, — to close the bay to blockade-run- 
ners. 

Operations were again resumed, in the sj)ring of 18G5, by 
General Canby and Admiral Thatcher, and after a month the 
defenses held by General Taylor were taken, April 12, 1S65, 
and the Union Army entered the city, ignorant of the fact that 
Lee's army had surrendered three days before. 



I 



CHAPTER y. 

WAR IN MISSOURI. 

The Oeganization of the Armies, 1861. — In Missouri, as 
in several slave States, a majority of the people were loyal. 
The Legislature refused to pass an ordinance of secession, but in- 
vested the Governor, Claiborne F. Jackson, with despotic power. 
He was determined to take the State out of the Union, and 
used every means at his command in the interests of the Con- 
federacy. He established camps of instruction in different parts 
of the State. One near St. Louis he named Camp Jackson. 
About twelve hundred men stationed here and armed by the 
Confederate Government were surprised on the morning of 
May 10, 1861, surrounded by Captain E^athaniel Lyon with 
6,000 men, and the whole garrison was compelled to surrender. 
A mob following Lyon's men heaped insult and then violence 
upon them. One regiment finally fired wpon the assailants, 
killing twenty-two persons. 

Governor Jackson was active in carrying out his designs at 
Jefferson City. He called for 50,000 State militia to- repel 
Federal invasions, and divided the State into nine military 
districts. Sterling Price, who was appointed commander of 
the State forces, urged officers commanding in the districts to 
make haste to organize the militia, and assemble them at Boon- 
ville and Lexington. A Confederate force entered the State 
from Arkansas and Texas to assist in the work of rebellion, 

(57) 



58 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

EooNvii.LK AND Cartjiage. — Union troops were being as- 
seDil)l(Ml at the Federal arsenal at St. Louis under the cuniniand 
of General Lyon, lie gave the enemy little time for jn-cpa- 
ration. Steaming up the Missouri from St. Louis to Jefferson 
City, he found the Governor had fled to his adherents at Boon- 
ville. On the I7th of June, Lyon reached Boonville, where 
some two or three thousand men, under tlie command of Colonel 
Marmaduke were assembled. They were dispersed after a 
sharp engagement, and fled toward the southwest, through 
Warsaw, receiving reinforcements as they went. 

Colonel Franz Sigel, a veteran German officer, had been dis- 
patched with 1,500 men farther south. He had pushed on near 
to Carthage, hoping to prevent a junction between Jackson and 
some other forces which his Confederate brigadiers were hurry- 
ing to him. A spirited engagement took place, July 5th, in 
which the flanking cavalry of the enemy compelled Sigel to 
retreat to his baggage trains. The Confederate loss was much 
greater than the Federal. Jackson's forces were greatly aug- 
mented during the night and morning by the arrival of Price 
with his Arkansas and Texas troops. Sigel, thus greatly out- 
numbered, continued his retreat to Springfield, where General 
Lyon joined and outranked him. 

The State convention reassembled at Jefferson City^ J^ily 
20th, and by a vote of 52 to 28 declared the offices of Governor, 
Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, and of legislators, va- 
cant because of the acts of treason of those officials. Their 
acts opposed to the Federal Government were declared null and 



WAR IN MISSOURI. 59 

void. I^ew officers were elected and inaugurated, who admin- 
istered the affairs of the State. 

Wilson's Creek, August 10, 1861. — Major General John 
C. Fremont was appointed to the command of the Western 
Department July 9, hut did not reach St. Louis until the 25th. 
Efforts were made to ohtain reinforcements for Lyon, hut the 
disaster at Bull Run made it necessary to send all aid to that 
quarter. Meantime the Confederate troops were forming, and 
advancing upoil General Lyon in two columns. Lyon deter- 
mined to strike a hlow hefore they could perfect a junction. A 
skirmish occurred at Dug Spring, in which he had the advan- 
tage ; hut he could not prevent the columns from uniting. His 
force numhered 5,500, while the enemy nuinhered 12,000. 
Even with this disparity of numhers he fell upon the foe en- 
camped at Wilson's Creek, August 10th. This battle, next to 
Bull Run, was the most important of the year 1861. Lyon 
was twice wounded, once in the head ; his horse was shot from 
under him. In a final charge, as the Colonel of the Second 
Kansas regiment lay severely wounded. General Lyon headed 
the column, calling out " Come on, brave men ! I will lead you.'' 
At that moment a bullet struck him in the breast, and the 
heroic leader fell mortally wounded ; but the enemy was driven 
from the field. Sigel, who assaulted the Confederate rear, had 
met a repulse. With the loss of their leader, and in the face 
of a great disparity of numbers, the Union troops, having made 
an effective assault, retreated from the contest, as the enemy 
were again forming to renew the battle. The Confederates 



60 



THE CIVIL WAR IJY CAMPAIGNS. 




WAR IN MISSOURI. 61 

claimed the victory, as they held the field and took six gimSj but 
they had been so severely punished that no pursuit was at- 
tempted. Each army had lost more than a thousand in killed, 
wounded, and missing. 

Major Sturgis assumed command of the Union troops, and 
conducted the retreat. 

The Fall of Lexingtoist, Mo., Sept. 20, 1861. — General 
Price moved from Wilson's Creek battle-field northward to Lex- 
ington, where Colonel James A. Mulligan was garrisoned with 
a force numbering 3,500. The attempt by Fremont to reinforce 
Mulligan did not succeed. The water-supply was cut off from 
the beleaguered troops, who, with parched lips, repelled repeated 
assaults. The enemy constructed movable breastworks of hemp, 
which they rolled before them as they advanced toward the 
Union troops. Price had increased his forces until they reached 
18,000. With this number he appeared before Lexington and 
opened a terrific fire upon the little Union garrison, which 
answered with determined spirit. The Federal troops had ex- 
hausted all ammunition, consumed all rations, and had been 
without water for days. Finally, after three days of fighting, 
the Union troops were compelled to yield to an unconditional 
surrender, September 20, 1861. 

Movement of Officers and Armies. — Fremont at once left 
St. Louis wdth the intention of attacking Price, but that officer 
retreated after the capture of Col. Mulligan, to the southwest 
part of the State, where he was rejoined by Gen. McCulloch, 
who had separated from him after the battle of Wilson's Creek. 



62 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Fremont proclaimed martial law in Missouri, August 31, and 
])r()mised freedom to the slaves of all persons who should take 
up arms against the United States Government. It was feared 
tliat this proclamation would lead many Unionists in the border 
States, especially Kentucky, to side with the Confederacy, if 
indorsed by the National administration. President Lincoln 
issued an order modifying Fremont's proclamation so as to 
restrict it to the slaves who were actually engaged in rebellion 
by the direction or persuasion of their masters. 

After organizing his army, now numbering 30,000, Fremont 
marched toward Springfield in pursuit of the foe. A battle be- 
tween his army and the Price forces became imminent. But on 
the 2d of November an order from Gen. Scott arrived, which re- 
lieved Fremont of his cornmand and placed Gen. Hunter in 
his place. The removal of Fremont for the purpose of securing 
more efficient service caused much complaint in Missouri and 
throughout tlie country among the anti-slavery men. It proved 
an unfortunate affair, as Gen. Hunter with a force superior in 
nundier and discipline to his opponents, retreated to Polla with- 
out a battle. The campaign, inaugurated w^ith great expense, 
was a flat failure, and the southwest part of the State Avas 
al)aii(l(>no(l, for the time, to Confederate pillage and guerrilhi 
outrages. 

Gen. Hunter was superseded in the command of the De]iart- 
ment of Missouri l)y Henry W. Trnllcck, on tlic 12th of Novem- 
ber, ISCl. 

Gen. Price piislicd liis force nortliward unresisted. He en- 



r 



WAR IN MISSOURI. G3 

tered and occupied Springfield, Osceola, Lexington, burned 
Warsaw, and established Confederate supremacy over the 
greater portion of the southern and western parts of the State. 
At length Gen. Pope, who had conducted a successful campaign 
against the guerrillas in northern Missouri, but now in com- 
mand of the central district of the State, moved against the 
enemy. A detachment of Pope's forces, under Jefferson C. 
Davis, surprised the enemy's camp at Milford, near Warrens- 
burg, and took over 1,000 prisoners and much baggage and sup- 
plies. Before Price had time to concentrate his forces, he had 
been so roughly handled that he retreated rapidly southward 
through Springfield and across the Arkansas line. 

Gen. Pope was then sent with a land force to cooperate with 
Commodore Foote in the reduction of 'New Madrid and Island 
No. 10. He had thus commenced the building of that reputa- 
tion which soon placed him in a position in which he showed 
but little ability as a commander of a great army. 

Battle of Pea Eidge, March 7-8, 1862. — Late in Decem- 
ber, Gen. S. P. Curtis was placed in command of E'ational 
troops in southwestern Missouri. He advanced from Rolla in 
pursuit of Price, who retreated before him to the Boston Moun- 
tains, Arkansas. Gen. Albert Pike, with a number of Cherokee 
Indians and Gen. Benj. McCulloch in command of a division 
of Texas and Arkansas troops, joined the forces of Price, in- 
creasing them to about 20,000 ; and Gen. Earl Van Dorn was 
sent to take command of the whole Confederate force. Curtis 
had but little more than one-half the force which opposed him. 



6J: THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Van Dorn resolved to give battle, and lie fell u\Mm the advance 
division of Federal troops at Bentonville, nnder Gen. Sigel, 
who sneeeeded in condnctini>- a niasterlv retreat nntil reinforced 
by the main body. Then, in a severe engagement March 7th 
and 8th, the Confederates were driven to the ravines, and finally 
put to rout. The l^ational loss in this engagement, called by 
the Federals the battle of Pea llidge (named by the Confeder- 
ates Elk Horn), Avas over 1,300 killed, wounded, and missing. 
The Confederate loss was heavy, but the numbers are unknow^n. 

Guerrilla Warfare. — No important military operations 
were undertaken in Missouri and Arkansas for some time after 
the engagement at Pea Ridge. The more important events 
farther East drained the resources of the West, and led to a 
withdrawal of the troops from this State. Van Dorn and Price 
w^ere called to Tennessee, and participated in the engagement 
around Corinth. Curtis sent a large part of his army to assist 
in the siege of Corinth, and led the rest in a march across the 
State of Arkansas to Helena, on the Mississippi. 

The withdrawal of these forces encouraged the formation of 
guerrilla bands. They became very numerous in the interior of 
Missouri, where they carried on a desperate and sanguinary 
guerrilla warfare. The encounters were many and fierce. Gen. 
J. M. Schofield, Avho was left in command in Missouri, organ- 
ized the loyal citizens into a State militia. He had 50,000 
names on his rolls, of whom 20,000 were ready for effective | 
service by July, 1862. ' 



WAR IN MISSOURI. 65 

Tlie Confederate Gen. Hindman gathered a large force in 
Arkansas in the fall of the year 1862. His troops were poorly 
armed and disciplined, but commanded by a general who was 
determined to engage in battle. The opportunity was afforded 
him at Prairie Grove, in December, where he was defeated by 
a force much smaller than his own, under Generals Blunt and 
Herron. The losses were about equal on each side. The Con- 
federates retreated south to the protecting barriers of the Bos- 
ton Mountains. 

QuANTRELL Raid o^- Lawren^ce, Kan., Aug. 21, 1863. — 
After the fall of Vicksburg, many Confederate soldiers returned 
to their homes in Missouri. A season of renewed activity was 
imparted to the guerrilla bands that continued to roam about in 
their plundering excursions. One of the most atrocious out- 
rages of the war was committed by one of these bands led by 
the notorious Quantrell, who had for some weeks been threat- 
ening various Kansas towns. Assembling about 300 picked and 
well-mounted followers, at a place of rendezvous near the State 
line, and skillfully avoiding several detachments sent in pursuit 
of him, he crossed into Kansas, and pushed directly for LaAv- 
rence. He entered the defenseless city in the early morning of 
August 21. Stores and banks were robbed, 185 buildings 
burned, and 150 to 200 inhabitants murdered in cold blood. 
The work was completed in three or four hours and the marau- 
ders were on the retreat, pursued so closely that more than 100 
of the band were killed. 

— 5 



66 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Confederate Heverses. — Gen. Holmes's attack on Helena, 
Ark., was gallantly repulsed by Gen. Prentiss July 4tli; and the 
Confederate Gen. Marmaduke met reverses at Springfield, Mo., 
January 8tli ; at Hartsville, January lltli; and at Cape Girar- 
deau, April 26th, 18G3. 

Price's Last Raid in Missouri, 18G4. — The last important 
operation in the West was a raid conducted by Gen. Sterling 
K. Price through Arkansas and Missouri. In the West it is 
called the " Price Paid." Several engagements between his 
raiders and Federal authority occurred in Arkansas. Price 
then, organizing his forces to the number of about 15,000, into 
three divisions, entered Missouri and ravaged the State for two 
months — September and October. At Pilot Knob he attacked 
a small Federal force, which, after administering severe pun- 
ishment to him from behind intrenchments, was forced to re- 
treat. The raiders at once threatened the depots at St. Louis, 
Rolla, and Jefferson, and for a week or more they seemed to 
have their own way. 

Gen. W. S. Posecrans, now in command of the Department 
of the Missouri at St. Louis, sent Pleasonton's cavalry and the 
Kansas militia under Blunt and Curtis, to cope with Price's 
veterans. Engagements occurred at St. Louis, Jefferson City, 
Independence, and Westport. The marauders were put to 
flight southward. They crossed into Kansas near West Point, 
!Mu., closely pursued in their southern movement by the Union 
trooj)s. There was an engagement at the crossing of the Mara is 
des Cygnes (called tlic Osage, farther down-stream) river, and 



WAR IN MISSOURI. 67 

on Oct. 25th the Confederates were overtaken, and the decis- 
ive battle of Mine Creels was fought on Kansas soil, in Linn 
county. The enemy lost nine pieces of artillery, and 800 prison- 
ers, among whom were Generals Marmaduke, Cabell, and Slem- 
mons, the latter being mortally wounded. General Graham, also 
of the Confederate armj^, was killed. The pursuit was con- 
ducted with such vigor that the enemy abandoned the project of 
attacking Fort Scott, fled from Kansas, and soon after departed 
from the State of Missouri with his forces greatly demoralized, 
and his army reduced by captures and dispersions to perhaps 
5,000 men. 

Most of the noted guerrilla bands followed Price out of Mis- 
souri, and their raids and depredations came to an end. 

These operations, of a secondary nature, bore little relation 
to the general strategy of the main campaigns. Their chief 
importance consisted in the moral weight added to the Federal 
cause by the preservation of national authority in this section, 
and in the protection of the rights of loyal citizens. 



CHAPTEK VI. 

GRANT'S CAMPAIGN IN THE WEST. 

Belmont, GrxVnt's First Battle, ]N"ovember 7, 1861. — 
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who was in command of Cairo, moved 
down the Mississippi with 3,000 men for a demonstration 
against Belmont, Mo., opposite Columbus. Two Union gun- 
boats accompanied the transports. These engaged the batteries 
of Columbus, while the troops landed on the Missouri side, 
'Nov. Y, 1861. After a spirited conflict, the troops fought their 
way through the abatis surrounding Belmont, and succeeded in 
driving the enemy over the bluff to the bank of the river. 
Heavy reinforcements were sent from Columbus to cut Grant's 
troops off from their gunboats, and with superior numbers com- 
pel them to surrender. His exhausted troops valiantly fought 
their way back to the boats, and re-embarked for Cairo. The 
Confederate loss was more than 600, while the Union loss was 
much less. 

Battle of Mill Springs, January 19, 1862. — While Gen- 
eral Grant was preparing to move against Forts Henry and 
Donelson, General Thomas, who commanded the Union forces 
in eastern Tennessee, began operations against the extreme east 
of tlie Confederate line of defense. Gen. Felix K. Zollicoffer 
was at the head of the enemy's forces. His principal camp was 
at Mill Springs, on the Cumberland river, in a thinly settled 

(68) 



69 

and poorly cultivated region. One small steamboat brought 
sup2)lies up the river from I^ashville, to feed the armv, which 
numbered 5,000 men. 

Gen. Geo. B. Crittenden joined Zollicoffer, and superseded 
him in command. Fearing an attack from Thomas, he resolved 
to anticipate it, and sallied forth to surprise several Union regi- 
ments at Logan's Crossroads. The Confederates were utterly 
defeated Jan. 19, 1862. Gen. Zollicoffer was killed. The Union 
loss w^as 250 to the enemy's 500. The engagement was called 
by the Confederates Fishing Creek; by the Federals, Mill 
Springs or Logan's Crossroads. Crittenden withdrew his troops 
across the Cumberland, abandoning eastern Kentucky. 

In the early part of January, Gen. James A. Garfield defeated 
the Confederates, commanded by General Marshall, at Preston- 
burg, Ky. 

Fort Heney, Feb. 6, 1862. — A few miles south of the Ken- 
tucky line, the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers approach 
within eleven miles of each other. The Confederates had 
erected Fort Henry, on the east bank of the Tennessee, com- 
manding the passage of that stream, and Fort Donelson, on the 
west bank of the Cumberland, controlling its waters. A dirt 
road connected the two forts, by means of which the garrisons 
w^ere expected to support each other if assailed. 

To Gen. Grant, w^ith the aid of Commodore Foote and his 
seven gunboats, was assigned, by order of Gen. Halleck, the task 
of taking these forts. Leaving Cairo with some 15,000 troops 
on steam transports, they moved up the Ohio and Tennessee to 



70 



THE CIVIL WAR IJY CAMPAIGNS. 




*- grant's campaign in the west. 71 

within four miles of Fort Ileiirj. The troops were landed, and 
the main force under Gen. J. A. McClernand moved south to 
occupy the road leading to Fort Donelson. Commodore Foote 
steamed up the river and commenced a fierce bombardment of 
the fort. In less than two hours the guns of the enemy were 
silenced, and the fort compelled to surrender. Gen. Tilghman, 
Confederate commander at Fort Henry, had previously sent 
nearly all of his troops under Col. Heiman, who was second in 
command, to Fort Donelson, a portion of whom were overtaken 
by McClernand's cavalry, and twenty captured. Gen. Tilgh- 
man and about one hundred men who remained in the fort, sur- 
rendered Feb. 6th, 1862, while the rest escaped to Fort Donelson. 
Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, perhaps the most promising of 
the Southern officers, was in command in the West, with head- 
quarters at Bowling Green. Gen. Buell lay in Johnston's front. 

Surrender of Fort Donelson, Feb. 16, 1862. — While Mc- 
Clellan was still engaged in drilling, organizing and disciplining 
the Army of the Potomac, the army in the West commenced 
active operations. After the capture of Fort Henry, Grant pre- 
pared to invest Fort Donelson, It was here that Grant earned 
his first laurels as a staunch soldier. Fort Donelson was strongly 
fortified and garrisoned. The reinforcement from Fort Henry 
increased the numbers to about 21,000 men. From his victory 
on the Tennessee, Grant moved against Fort Donelson with 
15,000 troops, and appeared before it on Feb. 12th. Commo- 
dore Foote steamed down the Tennessee and up the Ohio and 
Cumberland, and appeared before Fort Donelson with his gun- 



'^2 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. * 

]»n}its aiul transi)(»rls on tlic evening- of Feb. loth, bringing more 
than 10,000 reinforcements. 

Tlie gnnboats luid done so well at Fort Henry tlnit tliey were 
again permitted to open the assanlt. Tliey did so the next 
day, but, after desperate fighting, they were forced to retire 
from the range of the fort. Tavo of the vessels wore disabled 
and others were badly damaged. The land forces then began 
a vigorous movement against the place. For two days there was 
severe fighting. An effort l)y the Confederates to cut their way 
ont had failed. Tlie Union lines were closing in upon them. 
'J'lie weather, which was pleasant and mild when the campaign 
commenced, became inclement and cold. Ivain began to fall, 
followed by snow, which was accompanied by intense cold. The 
su fleering on either side was fearful and almost universal, as 
the soldiers lay in their snow-clad beds Avitliout fire or tent. 
Great preparations were made by the Union forces for a con- 
centrated attack on the morning of the 16tli. The hopelessness 
of the Confederate situation brought a letter from Gen. Buck- 
ner asking for terms of surrender. Gen. Grant replied in these 
words : 

''No terms, except an uncondU'wnal and immediate surren- 
der, can he accepted. I propose to move immediately upon 
your worliSf* 

'I'lie garrison was surrendered the same day (Sunday) un- 
conditionally. The capture included about 15,000 men, (')5 
cannon, and 1,TG0 small arms. The Confederates had lost about 



73 

2,500 ill killed, wounded, and missing, while Grants loss was 
2,041. 

Gen. John B. Floyd was in command at Fort Donelson. He 
had been Secretary of War under Buchanan, and was under 
indictment at Washington. Fearing to surrender the command 
himself, he resigned in favor of Gen. Pillow, who for like reason 
turned the command over to Gen. Buckner. Both Floyd and 
Pillow escaped up the river on two Confederate steamers, and 
left Buckner to surrender the garrison. Floyd filled the steam- 
ers with men, estimated at 3,000, of his own brigade, who es- 
caped with him to jN'ashville. Col. Forrest also escaped, with 800 
cavalry. The conduct of Floyd in deserting his troops was on 
a par with his treachery as Secretary of War in supplying the 
South with arms and ammunition. For his conduct at Fort 
Donelson he was reprimanded by Jefferson Davis, and dismissed 
from service. 

The victory was of great importance to the National arms. 
It opened up two navigable rivers, and left the enemy no strong- 
hold in Kentucky and northern Tennessee. The whole Con- 
federate lines, extending from Bowling Green on the east to 
Columbus on the west, had to be abandoned. A new line of de- 
fense was selected, along the Charleston & Memphis Railroad. 

As Grant marched toward Fort Donelson, Gen. Buell moved 
against Gen. Johnston, whose forces at Bowling Green were 
greatly diminished by the detachment sent to Gen. Floyd at 
Donelson. Bowling Green was evacuated by Johnston, who re- 
treated to JSTashville, and soon continued his march south to 



74 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Corinth, Miss. iJudl iiKtvcd forward, took possession of N^asli- 
ville, and ostal)lisli('d liis headquarters there, while his army was 
quartered around the city. 

Battle of Shiloh, ok Pittsbitrg Landing, Athil 0-7, 
18(32. — 1'lie Confederate line of defense was bounded by Mem- 
phis on the west, Chattanooga on the east, with Shiloh in the 
center. 

Gen. Ifalleck was placed in command of all of the armies of 
the Mississippi Valley early in 1862, with headquarters at St. 
Louis. They embraced the Army of the Ohio, afterward called 
the Army of the Cumberland, under Gen. D. C. Buell; the 
Army of the Tennessee, under Gen. U. S. Grant ; the Army of 
the ^[ississippi, under Gen. John Pope; and the Army of 
Southwest Missouri, under Gen. S. R. Curtis. 

Gen. Grant's victorious army, after a brief rest at Fort Don- 
elson, crossed to the Tennessee, and prepared for a new move- 
ment against the Confederates, who were now concentrating at 
Corinth. While adopting vigorous measures for the execution 
of the movement upon the center of the new line of defense 
along the Menq)his & Charleston Railroad, Grant received an 
order from Gen. Ilalleck, instructing him to turn over his com- 
numd to Gen. C. F. Smitli, .March 4, 1862. 

Grant was relieved of his eomnuiiid Ix'cause of su])posed dis- 
obedience. 1'he temporary change of commanders did not re- 
tard the pre]iaration for the movement of the army. Trans- 
ports arrived, and the troo|»s were taken up the Tennessee river, 
and disembarked at Savannah in safety. The illness of Gen. 





JACKSOM 

t Gibson (^ 
Bru'ioiburrf 



^ 



^ 










(GEO. 



^^int^o relief of auunoora,. 



tANP 



TMe WEST. 



grant's campaign in the west. 75 

Smith, whicli resulted in his death, and the discovery that Grant 
had not been guilty of disobedience, resulted in reinstating him 
to his former command, March 13th. Much was expected from 
the army that had gained the signal victory at Forts Henry and 
Donelson. Public gaze w^as now concentrated npon it. No 
time was lost. Gen. Buell was ordered from Nashville to join. 
Grant, who moved his troops from Savannah to Pittsburg Land- 
ing, nine miles farther up the river. 

Buell at the same time sent Gen. O. M. Mitchell southward, 
with instructions to destroy as much of the Memphis & Charles- 
ton Kailroad as possible. lie passed through Shelbyville, and 
on the 11th of April he surprised and captured Huntsville, 
where he destroyed a large amount of supplies and railroad 
stock. lie moved to Decatur and Tuscumbia. It was his in- 
tention to move eastward to Chattanooga and Rome, to destroy 
the machine-shops and foundries there; but he was compelled 
to retire before the superior force of Gen. Xirby Smith. Later 
he joined the command of Gen. Buell in his campaign against 
Bragg, when this officer conducted his invasion of Kentucky. 

Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston had collected an army of 45,000 
men around Corinth. Grant's force numbered about 40,000 
men in and around Shiloh. Five thousand of these, under 
Gen. Lew Wallace, did not arrive on the scene of conflict until 
at the close of the first day's action. Gen. Buell was approach- 
ing with a force of 20,000 to cooperate with Grant. Gens. 
Price and Van Dorn were on their way from Missouri with a 
large force to swell Johnston's numbers. 



76 TOE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

As early as the 3d of A})i'il there had hecii skiriiiisliiiiG; aiiinnj;^ 
tlic pickets. An attack upon the Union army was not expected, 
however, ^o defenses had been erected, on the theory tliat tlie 
army woukl move upon Corintli to attack the enemy as soon as 
liuell should arrive. Johnston, however, determined to strike a 
hh)\v before reinforcements could come to Grant. Moving si- 
lently fortli from Corinth to within a few miles of the Federal 
pickets, he encamped for the night, and early on Sunday morn- 
ing, April 6th, his army came like an avalanche upon the Union 
pickets, who were driven back in confusion. Soon tlie enemy 
was u2:)on the main body. Grant was not, for the moment, pres- 
ent. The troops Avere not prepared for the onslaught. The 
lines fell back, and were re-formed. IJeauregard, Bragg and 
Hardee Avere able seconds to Johnston. Sherman, McClernand, 
McDowell, Prentiss, and on the second day Lew Wallace and 
Buell, rendered their best service to Grant. 

Prentiss Avas surrounded, and compelled to surrender Avith 
2,200 men. The Union army had been badly shattered during 
the day. Not less than 5,000 men Avere huddled nnder the bank 
of the river, resisting every effort to bring them out to linos 
again by tlie statement, ^' Our regiment is all cut to pieces.'' 
The lines fell back from one position to another until late in 
the afternoon, Avhen they Avere formed along the slopes and crest 
of the bluff along the river. In this new position, Avith a deep 
ravine in front of the left, Avith a raging river behind the army, 
arrayed in a semi-circle they l)cat back tlie march of the then 
triumphant army. The gunboats Tyler and Lexington swept 



grant's campaign in the west. 77 

the ravine, which extended to the river, and hurled shells into 
the Confederate columns. Here the enemy made the last des- 
perate effort to take the Union batteries and to .capture the 
troops or drive them into the river. Every effort failed. The 
ravine became a death-trap, and was soon filled with the bodies 
of the dead and wounded. The onward march of the Confed- 
erates was stopped. They had lost heavily during the day. 
Gen. Johnston was killed. Gen. Lew Wallace arrived with 
5,000 effectives, after the firing had ceased for the day. BuelFs 
forces arrived, and were ferried across the river during the 
night. Twenty-five thousand fresh troops were thus brought 
upon the Union field. 

With the early light of the morning the conflict was resumed. 
Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard, w^ho succeeded to the command of 
Johnston's army, made a desperate attempt to hold his ground. 
His decimated troops responded nobly, but it was all in vain. 
The little old log church, which constituted Shiloh, again be- 
came a conspicuous object in the battle-field. The enemy was 
overpowered, and driven from the field, back to the place which 
he had so stealthily left a few days before. 

The Union loss was 1,754 killed, 8,408 wounded, and 2,885 
missing, most of whom were prisoners. The Confederate loss 
was 1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded, 959 missing. 

Corinth Evacuated, May 30. — Gen. Halleck arrived at 
Pittsburg Landing April 11, and took command of the army in 
person. The way in Avhicli Grant had conducted the battle of 
Shiloh was not satisfactory to him. Grant was given a sort of 



78 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

second command, witliont any real dntj. Pope's army of 30,- 
000 men arrived a few days later, fresh from the capture of 
Island No. 10. Other accessions from various quarters increased 
Ilalleck's army to 100,000 men. Great preparations were at 
once begun to move against the enemy at Corinth, where Beaure- 
gard had strongly fortified himself after his defeat at Shiloh. 

Corinth was then an insignificant village, about twenty-two 
miles southwest of Pittsburg Landing, by the nearest wagon- 
road, or nineteen miles as the bird flies. It owed its military 
importance to the fact that it was located at the intersection of 
two great railroad systems — the Mobile & Ohio and the Mem- 
phis (S: Charleston. 

Beauregard's army was reinforced by the troops from Mis- 
souri under Price and Van Dorn, and by the troops that had n 
short time before evacuated New Orleans. His force now num- 
bered more than 50,000 men. 

The forward movement of Halleck's army from Shiloh to 
Corinth was commenced on April 30th. The movement was a 
siege from the start: slowly but gradually the troops advanced, 
always behind intrenchments. Three weeks were consumed in 
marching fifteen miles. Finally, Ilalleck's troops reached a 
position from which assault was practicable. Beauregard 
held out as long as possible, without attacking the besieging 
columns, and when his position became untenable he abandoned 
CV)rinth and retreated to Tupelo, llalleck won a bloodless but 
barren victoiy. His troops took possession of Corinth May 



79 

30th, and commenced erecting fortifications on an elaborate 
scale. 

Gen. Bnell was detached on the 10th of June, and sejit to- 
ward Chattanooga to oppose Gen. Bragg, who sncceeded Beanre- 
gard in the command of the Confederate army driven from 
Corinth. In order to strengthen Buell, many of the best and 
I most experienced soldiers were taken from Corinth and placed 
. under him. The Union division wdiich continued at Corinth 
. remained comparatively inactive from June to September. 

Some important changes were soon to take place in the distri- 

I bution of the troops and in the change of officers. The reverses 

] of the Army of the Potomac led the authorities to look around 

; for a new general-in-chief in place of McClellan. Halleck was 

I looked upon as the coming man. He was accordingly summoned 

I to Washington to assume the responsible position of commander 

of all the forces in the IJnited States. Grant succeeded to the 

I command of his old army, while Pope was ordered to Virginia, 

and Rosecrans was placed in command of Pope's forces under 

Gen. Grant. 

luKA, Sept. 19. — Generals Price and Van Dorn were left to 
confront the Union troops under Gen. Grant. Perceiving the 
reduced condition of the Federal army, they began maneuver- 
ing for the possession of Corinth. Price moved northeasterly, 
apparently with the view of joining Bragg in his Kentucky cam- 
paign, expecting thus to draw Grant from Corinth while Van 
Dorn would move forward and occupy the place. Price took 
possession of luka, driving out a small Federal force stationed 



80 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

tliore. Gen. Tiosocrans was sent by a soiitliorn route to attack 
Price at luka, while Gen. Ord went l)y a northern route to 
intercept tlie retreat. Bad roads and imperfect maps of the j 
country prevented a simultaneous attack. Rosecrans's division 
of 9,000 met the enemy near Inka, and in an engagement in 
whieli each side lost about eight hundred men he succeeded in 
defeating the force under Price. During the night the Con- 
federates made their escape, and formed a junction with Van 
Dorn. 

Gen. Grant had counted on the destruction of Price's army. 
As it was, luka was a victory without much gain. Rosecrans 
returned to Corinth after this engagement, and Grant moved 
liis headquarters to Jackson. The enemy under Van Dorn, 
having failed in the attempt to get possession of Corinth by 
strategy, determined to take it by assault, and recover northern 
^fississippi to the Confederacy. 

Battle of Corinth, October 3-4, 18G2. — Gen, Grant had 
under his command at various points about forty-eight thousand 
men. Of these, Y,000 were under Sherman at Memphis, 12,000 
under Ord at Bolivar, 23,000 under Rosecrans at Corinth, and 
G,000 at Grant's headquarters in Jackson. 

AVhile occupying a position at Corinth, Rosecrans was at- 
tacked by Generals Price and Van Dorn, in command of a Con- 
federate force numbering 38,000 men. On the 3d, the engage- 
ment consisted of skirmishing, and fragmentary charges and 
r('i)iilses on both sides, with the advantage in favor of the Con- 
ft'dcrates. The next day witnessed a ferocious struggle. The 



81 

enemy made three furious attempts to capture Eobinette's bat- 
tery, whicli had already inflicted heavy damage upon them. 
Each time they were repulsed with great loss. In the third 
charge the Confederate banner was twice placed on the parapet 
and twice shot away. Col. Eogers of the Second Texas sprang 
upon the embankment with colors in his hand. In an instant 
he and five others who followed him fell, mortally wounded. 

The defeat of the enemy became complete. They retired 
from Corinth in disorder. 

On the 5th the retreating foe was struck by Hurlbut and Ord, 
at the crossing of Ilatchie river, about ten miles from Corinth. 
They were again thrown into confusion, but by maneuvering 
they made good their escape. 

The Union loss was 2,359 in killed, wounded, and missing. 
The enemy lost about three thousand killed and wounded, be- 
sides 2,225 prisoners. 

Soon after his defeat at Corinth, Yan Dorn was superseded 
by Gen. Pemberton, and Rosecrans was promoted to BuelFs com- 
mand. Gen. Grant began preparations to move upon the only re- 
maining stronghold of the enemy in the Southwest — Vicksburg. 



CHAPTER VII. 
tup: opening of the Mississippi. 

The Confederate Line of Defense moves South. — When 
the Civil War coininenced, the Mississippi, from the mouth of 
the Ohio to the Gulf, fell iuto the hauds of the Confederates. 
Every effort was exerted by them to retain this great commer- 
cial highway. As the Confederate line of defense fell back 
before tlie advancing columns of Grant's victorious veterans, 
from Donelson to Shiloh, from Shiloh to Corinth, and from 
Corinth to Vicksburg, so all places on the upper Mississippi 
dwindled and faded away before the combined movement of the 
land and naval forces. With the fall of Forts Henry and Don- 
elson came the abandonment of Columbus ; with the Confederate 
defeat at Shiloli came the surrender of Island No. 10; with the 
evacuation of Corinth came the abandonment of Fort Pillow. 
New Orleans and Vicksburg were the only places on the river 
that offered serious resistance to the Union forces. All otlier 
places above Vicksburg were weakened as the Confederate line 
of defense was ])ush('d southward, and thus they were aban- 
doned, or fell an easy prey to the assailing forces. The follow- 
ing pages in this chapter will narrate the events of the struggle 
for the opening of the " Father of Waters." 

Columbus Abandoned, ^NfARcn 4, 1S02. — Commodore Foote 
collected a flotilla at Cairo, apparently for use at Nashville. 

(82) 



THE OPENING OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 83 

Wlien all ^\^s ready, he drifted down the Mississippi to Colum- 
bus, followed by troops on transports under Gen. William T. 
Sherman, while a supporting force moved overland from Pa- 
ducah, under Gen. Cullum. 

Columbus, Ky., was a Confederate stronghold, commanding 
the navigation of the Mississippi. Gen. Leonidas Polk, Episco- 
pal bishop of Louisiana, was in command. He abandoned the 
city before the Union troops arrived, and fell back to the 
stronger defenses of Island 'No. 10. 

Fall of New Madrid (March 14) an^d Island No. 10 
(April 7). — The islands of the Mississippi are numbered from 
the mouth of the Ohio river down to the Gulf. Island No. 10 
lay in a sharp bend in the Mississippi, about thirty miles below 
Columbus, Miss. JSTew Madrid, on the Missouri side, is a few 
miles farther down-stream, though on account of the great bend 
in the river it lies northwest of the island. 

The opening of the Mississippi was one of the objective points 
of the Federals. To resist this purpose the Confederates had 
strongly fortified Island N^o. 10. Forty guns had been mounted. 
Gen. Beauregard was in command, but he left for Corinth, April 
5th, and transferred his command to Gen. Makall. 

Gen. John Pope, who commanded in eastern Missouri, ap- 
peared before Ne^Y Madrid with some 20,000 men, while Com- 
modore Foote was preparing a fleet to assail Island N^o. 10 from 
the north. He intrenched three regiments at Point Pleasant, 
to command the passage of the river directly back of Island ISTo. 
10, and sent to Cairo for large siege guns to bombard New 



84 



THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 



^radrid. Gon. ^MoCV^wn, sooiiifj; tlio dangor of captnro, aban- 
Joiiod the ]ilae(' at iiiglit dnriiiii' a lioavv tlmndcr-stonn, and re- 



. pope's MEADQOAftTERi 



(^NwWl(adrid. 




iiio\('(I his t !•(»(. |>s to Island No. 10, Icavinii most of llicii' ('(jnipaiiv 
ill (-:iiii|). 

AI)Miit tlic time (»r tlic sni'i'cndcr of Xcw Madri^l, ( 'oniniodoi'c 
I^'oolc Id'l ('jiii'o witli a llcci of seven ir(»nelads iiii<l (»t lier .hoats 
foi' tlie ]mr))ose of aiding (Jen. Pnpe in his attack on Ishmd 



THE OPENING OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 85 

'No. 10. Commodore Foote bombarded tbe Confederate works 
many days without any damage to them. Gen. Pope wished 
to approach the enemy from the unprotected south. He could 
not take his troops across the river, as his boats were all above 
the island. He conceived the plan of digging a canal across the 
loop of the river, so as to be able to take his transports below the 
enemy's batteries and convey his troops across to the Kentucky 
side. The canal was dug through James bayou, a swampy penin- 
sula formed by the bend of the river. It was twelve miles long 
and fifty feet wide. About ten miles was through a timber dis- 
trict, much of which had to be sawed under the surface of the 
water. The remarkable feat was accomplished in nineteen days. 

The transports passed through the canal to a point below the 
island, while 'two of Footers ironclads ran past the batteries. 
Pope's troo^^s crossed the river, took Tiptonville, and closed the 
only avenue of escape for the beleaguered troops, as the swampy 
and flooded lands to the east .precluded retreat in that direction. 
Entirely cut off from retreat or succor, the whole Confederate 
force on the mainland and on the island, Y,000 in number, sur- 
rendered April 7th, — the day on which the battle of Shiloh was 
fought. 

Island No. 10 has since disappeared. The water, constantly 
wearing at the upper end, has little by little swept it entirely 
away. 

SuEEENDEK OF Nbw Oeleans, Apeil 29, 1862. — The at- 
tempt to open the Mississippi was not confined to the operations 
from the north. Early in the year 1862, a combined land and 



86 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

naval force was prepared to move against New Orleans from 
tlie soiitli. For this jiurijose forces were congregated at Ship 
Island, which is located in the Gulf of Mexico, about 100 miles 
north and east of the mouth of the Mississippi river. Commo- 
dore David Farragut was chosen to command the fleet, and Gen- 
eral Ijcnjamin F. Butler was placed in charge of the land forces. 

New Orleans was the largest Southern ci^iy, with a population 
at the outbreak of the war of 170,000. It possessed the great- 
est export trade, prior to the war, of any city in the world. It 
contained the resources of modern warfare, having workshops 
where machinery of the most powerful kind could be built, and 
having artisans capable of building ships, casting guns, and 
making small arms. Its people Avere as hostile to the United 
States as any in the South. The city is one hundred miles 
above the mouth of the Mississippi. Fort Jackson on the west 
side, and Fort St. Philip on the east side of the river, guarded 
the approaches to the city. 

Immense wealth in coin and produce was furnished in great 
abundance by New Orleans to support the military operations 
directed from Eichmond. Eegiment after regiment had been 
raised and equipped here, and dispatched to meet the pressing 
exigencies on the Potomac, the Tennessee, and the upper Mis- 
sissippi. When the hour of peril came to Ncav Orleans, only a 
small military force, poorly drilled, remained to defend the 
city. 

Gen. Mansfield Lovell was in command of the Confederate 
forces stationed here. He exhausted every energy to defend and 



THE OPENING OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 87 

protect the city. Forts St. Philip and Jackson were strength- 
ened, and all the land approaches to the city were fortified and 
guarded. 

The river was obstructed by strongly braced piles and green 
live-oaks. A strong chain was extended across the river within 
range of the guns of the forts. It was supported by eight dis- 
mantled vessels and a large raft. Fire-rafts were prepared, to 
drift tow^ard the Union fleet and ignite the vessels. 

Farragut with his powerful fleet of 47 vessels, carrying the 
land forces of 14,000 under Butler, steamed up the river. The 
mortars and gunboats approached within range of the forts and 
opened fire upon them. For six days and nights the mortars 
kept up an unremitting fire, mainly upon Fort Jackson; 16,800 
shells were throAvn without much effect upon the enemy's de- 
fenses. Finally, Farragut determined to run past the forts. 
Captain Bell was sent on the night of the 20th of April with 
two gunboats on the dangerous mission of making an opening in 
the chain obstruction, for the passage of the fleet. The whole 
fire of Fort Jackson was concentrated upon them, but the cable 
was successfully separated near the left bank, and a sufiiciently 
large opening made to admit the passage of the fleet, which was 
waiting below. At 3 :30 in the morning of April 24, the bold 
attempt to pass the forts was begun. On they steamed, in the 
face of a terrific fire from the forts, past the chain, through 
sunken hulks, amid burning rafts, encountering the Confederate 
fleet of fifteen vessels, two of which were ironclads. The fleet 
kept up a continuous rain of shot and shell upon the forts as it 



88 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

passed bj them. It captured or destroyed every Confederate 
vessel, and accomplished the mission for which it set out with 
tlic loss of but a single vessel. Thus was achieved a feat in 
naval warfare which had no precedent, and which is still with- 
out a parallel except the one furnished by Farragut himself at 
^fobile, two years later, and the one furnished by Dewey at 
Manila, which, though not entirely similar, was in some respects 
more remarkable in results. 

Commodore Porter, who kept up the mortar-fire while Farra- 
gut was forcing his way up the stream, says : 

"No grander or more beautiful sight could have been realized than 
the scenes of that night. From silence, disturbed now and then by the 
slow fire of the mortars, — the phantom-like movement of the vessels 
giving no sound, — an increased roar of heavy guns began, while the 
mortars burst forth in rai)id bombardment, as the fleet drew near the 
enemy's works. Vessel after vessel added her guns to those already at 
work, until the very earth seemed to shake from the reverberations. A 
burning raft added its lurid glare to the scene, and the fiery attacks of 
the mortar-shells, as tliey passed through the darkness aloft, and some- 
times bursting in midair, gave the impression that heaven itself had 
joined in the general strife. The succeeding silence was almost as sud- 
den. From the weighing of the anchors, one hour and ten minutes saw 
the vessels by the forts, and Farragut on his way to New Orleans, the 
prize staked upon the fierce game of war just ended," 

Gen. Lovell, who was in command at ISTew Orleans, came 
down the river to observe events, and narrowly escaped capture. 
He hastened to the city and withdrew his soldiers on l^he even- 
ing of the 24th, leaving the town at the mercy of the Union fleet. 
When news reached l^ew Orleans that the Confederate flotilla 
had been destroyed and the triumphant fleet was approaching 
the city, a strange scene followed. Hopeless panic seized the 



THE OPENING OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 89 

good people of the city, and ruffians, cut-throats and thugs went 
about pillaging houses, shops, and stores. Public materials were 
heaped in the streets and burned. Twelve thousand bales of 
cotton were consumed by the flames. The mob swayed back and 
forth in the. streets, hooting, yelling, cursing, and urging the 
people to resist the landing of the Federals. 

Farragut appeared before 'New Orleans on the 25th of April, 
and demanded the surrender of the city. The mayor was power- 
less to control the mob, and could not surrender the city Avhile 
the people were swayed by their passions. But on the 29th 
the militia landed and took possession of the public buildings. 
The forts had surrendered the day before. Gen. Butler had 
worked his way through bayous and bays in the rear of Fort 
St. Philip, landing his men from row-boats on the first firm 
ground reached. Realizing the uselessness of protracting the 
contest, the enemy surrendered the forts to Captain Porter. 
Gen. Butler took military command of ISTew Orleans, and in- 
augurated stringent methods for cleansing and pacifying the 
unclean and turbulent city. Almost one-half of the population 
of the city were of foreign birth. A large number of the poorer 
element belonged to a dangerous and desperate class. Severity 
alone would answer in controlling them. Wm. B. Mumford 
was hanged for tearing down the E'ational flag which was raised 
over the mint by one of Farragut's officers. This event had a 
healthful effect upon the turbulent and lawless. 

The total loss to the Union forces in achieving the brilliant 
victory at ISTew Orleans was 40 killed and 177 wounded. 



90 the civil war by camraigns. 

Eaton Rouge, I^atciikz, and the First Attack on Vicks* 
nuKG, 1862. — After New Orleans had been secured and handed 
over to Gen. Butler, Farragut pushed up the Mississippi, taking 
]^aton Rouge, Natchez, and every town of any inij^ortance as 
far as Vicksburg. On June 28th a general attack was made 
n])nu this city. Farragut succeeded in running the batteries 
with two frigates and six gunboats, and bombarded the enemy's 
works from above; but little or no effect was produced upon 
them. The bombardment was continued at intervals, while 
General Williams was attempting to cut a canal across the 
isthmus formed by the bend of the river, and while an applica- 
tion to Gen. Ilalleck at Corinth was pending, for a corps of his 
army to aid the fleet. The work of the canal, the first of three 
attempts, proved unsuccessful, and no troops were sent to aid 
Farragut. The siege of Vicksburg was abandoned by order 
from Washington, and Farragut dropped down the river with 
the greater part of his fleet. Gen. Williams with his soldiers 
returned to Baton Rouge in time to repulse an attack made upon 
that place, August 5tli, by the Confederates under Gen. J. C. 
Breckinridge. 

FoKT Pillow Evacuated, May 10. — Not long after the 
brilliant victory of Commodore Farragut before New Orleans, 
a Federal fleet under Com. II. C. Davis prepared to attack Fort 
Pillow, located on the Mississippi in the vicinity of Memphis. 
But on the approach of the fleet, the enemy evacuated the place. 
May 10th. 



THE OPENING OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 91 

Memphis Taken, June 6, 1862. — Commodore Davis pro- 
ceeded with his fleet toward Memphis. A formidable Confed- 
erate flotilla awaited his approach, commanded by Commodore 
Montgomery. The fleets met at half-past five in the morning, 
when the engagement began. The inhabitants swarmed in mul- 
titudes upon the bluff, levee, and house-roofs, to witness the 
battle. Disaster came thickly upon the vessels of the enemy. 
Their entire fleet was either captured or destroyed in an hour 
and a half after the beginning of the engagement, with the 
exception of the flagship Van Dorn, whose superior speed ena- 
bled her to escape. The enemy's loss was heavy — nearly 100 
men killed and wounded; while Col. Ellet, jr., commander of 
the Union rams, was the only man wounded on the Federal 
fleet. He died afterward from exhaustion and from the effect 
of the wound. The Queen of the West was the only Federal 
vessel severely injured. ^ 

Commodore Davis then took possession of the city, and the 
supremacy of the Federal Government was again established 
in one of the chief towns of Tennessee. 

The ultimate effect of this victory was great. It assisted in 
effectively clearing the Mississippi from the presence of the 
powerful Confederate gunboats. 

With the single exception of Vicksburg, every other strong- 
hold of the foe had been taken. The conquest of Vicksburg 
alone was necessary to open the channel of the great highway of 
the West, and sever one of the leading arteries of the Confed- 
eracy. 



92 



THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMrAKiNS. 



SlX'OXI) ]\I()VEMEXT A(JA1X!ST VlCKSIJlKc;. 1 )K( KM I'.EK, 1 S(;l>. 

Vicksbiirii', located on the Mississipj)! river alxmt iiii(l\va\- l)c- 
twcen its iiioiitli and ('air<», was tlic natural center and eliief 
stroniiliold of the slavelioldiiiii' States in tlie West after the fall 




Vklkslbyinir. 



of New Orleans. Its natni-al sti-eni^th and iiii|)nrtanee as cnm- 
niandini;' the inivi^ation of the Mississi])pi river were early 
ai)i)rcciated ; and it was s-<» fortitied and liarrisonecl as to make 
the storming of the works a dangerous task and the capture of i 



THE OPENING OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 93 

it well-nigli impossible. The naval demonstration against Yicks- 
burg after the victory at 'New Orleans, had proved a failure. 

After Halleck was promoted and transferred to Washington, 
Grant was put in command of the district of western Tennessee. 
His command was extended Oct. 16, 1862, to include the State 
of Mississippi. He had gradually driven the enemy southward 
at Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, and luka. He 
now commenced preparations for an active campaign against 
Gen. John C. Pemberton in his front, with the hope of ulti- 
mately taking Vicksburg. Pemberton had established his head- 
quarters at Jackson, Mississippi, while Van Dorn, second to him 
in command, occupied the Confederate front at Holly Springs. 
Grant moved his own headquarters from Jackson, Tenn., to La- 
grange, and arranged with Rear Admiral Porter to convey Sher- 
man's men from Memphis to Vicksburg. He himself moved 
with nearly 60,000 men by way of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad. 
He pushed through Grand Junction and Holly Springs to Ox- 
ford. While at the latter place preparing to move on Jackson 
and Vicksburg, Van Dorn struck a damaging blow to Grant's 
communications. Col. R. C. Murphy was left in command of 
Holly Springs, which had been the temporary depot of arms, 
munitions and provisions for the Union army. He ignomin- 
iously surrendered the place and men under his command Dec. 
20, 1862, to a band of Confederate raiders, while other places 
with a less number of men in garrison valiantly repelled the 
invaders. Grant had dispatched 4,000 men by rail for the re- 
lief of Holly Springs, but they arrived only a few hours after 



94 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

the enemy had departed. Col. Mnr})hy was dismissed fr(»i!i 
service in a stinging order by Gen. Grant. 

Thus by the cowardice or perversity of one man, were not 
only 2,000 men surrendered, and several million dollars' wortli 
of property sacriiiced, but the fair promise of an important 
('X]KMlition was blighted. By the loss of his stores Grant was 
completely paralyzed. He decided to fall back to Grand Jimc- 
tion, to move westward to Memphis,, and to descend by the 
river to Vicksburg. A courier was at once sent to notify Sher- 
man of this disaster. 

The day after the Holly Springs surrender, Gen. Sherman 
had left Memphis with the right wing of the Army of the Ten- 
nessee, about 30,000 strong, and passed down the Mississippi, 
on transports, and twelve miles up the Yazoo. Debarking his 
men, he commenced an assault upon the defenses of Vicksburg 
from the north. Grant's recoil from Oxford was unknown to 
Sherman, as Grant's courier failed to reach his destination, and 
the Confederates under Gen. Pemberton, previously confront- 
ing Grant, now faced about and concentrated their energies in 
opposition to Sherman, who expected Grant to engage the atten- 
tion of the main body. Expeditious as Avere Sherman's move- 
ments, all of tJK' (\)iifoderate forces, with the exception of Van 
Dorn and his cavalry, were on hand to receive him. 

Vicksburg is built on a range of bluifs whose average height 
is about 200 feet, and quite precipitous from Vicksburg to 
Haines Bluff, a distance of about thirtecm or fourteen miles. 
Beyond the blntl's thci'c is low ground of s\vam])s and bayous, 



THE OPENING OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 95 

the cliief of wliicli is Chickasaw Bayou. The enemy had con- 
structed an abatis and dotted the swamps with rifle-pits. The 
bhiffs frowned with rifle-trenches and hostile batteries. Coming 
from the north, Sherman was compelled to pass through the low 
lands, and then ascend the abrupt bluffs, though at the time he 
set out on the expedition he had not realized the seriousness of 
the obstacles afforded by the character of the soil. 

Sherman's army was uniquely Western. They were fighting 
for a Western advantage, and entered into the campaign with 
a grim determination to carry the approaches to Vicksburg. 
Admiral Porter, in command of the Union fleet, gave prompt 
and hearty cooperation to the land forces. The impediments 
were too great to be overcome. An assault was made, in which 
about 2,000 men were lost, including prisoners and wounded. 
The news of Grant's failure to come overland, the consequent 
concentration of about 40,000 Confederates to oppose his troops, 
and the strong fortification of the enemy, induced Sherman to 
abandon the undertaking for the time. He knew that any fur- 
ther attempt to capture the place would result in a useless and 
disastrous loss of life. He accordingly embarked with his troops 
Jan. 2, for Milliken's Bend. While on the point of leaving, 
Gen. John A. McClernand, Sherman's senior, arrived and took 
command. He acquiesced in Sherman's plans for the return 
expedition, and at once began active measures for the reduction 
of Fort Hindman, called also " The Post of Arkansas," fifty 
miles from the Mississippi, where a French settlement had been 
made in 1685. After a gallant defense, the fort fell into the 



9G THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

liantls of Gen. McCleriiand. The 5,000 prisoners were sent to 
St. Lonis, and the Union forces, pursuant to the order of Gen. 
Grant, returned to Milliken's Bend. 

Third and Final Movement against Vicksburg, 1803. — 
Gen. Grant, having reorganized and refitted his army at Mein- 
])his, descended the river with his troops in transports to Young's 
Point, nine miles above Vicksburg. Here was the head of the 
canal project commenced and abandoned some months before 
by Gen. Williams. Gen. Grant concluded to complete the canal. 
By means of this he expected to isolate Vicksburg, and take his 
transports down below the city to convey his men across the 
river. A large number of men were employed at this work. 
The heavy rains flooded the district, making work at the canal 
impossible, and induced Grant permanently to abandon the un- 
dertaking. He had also attempted to flank the Confederates 
by passing with his transports through a network of bayous, 
lakes, and connecting streams to a point below Vicksburg; but 
he found the impediments too great to accomplish this. 

The character of the Confederate defense and the nature of 
the country convinced Gen. Grant that Vicksburg could not be 
successfully assailed from above unless he had full control of the 
Yazoo river, for which he had persistently but vainly struggled. 
He now decided on an entirely new line of operations. In pur- 
suance with this plan he recalled the various expeditions looking 
to the control of the Yazoo valley. He set out from JMilliken's 
Bend, marched down on the west side of the river to a point be- 
l(t\v Vicksburg, intending to chkss tlic river in transp(U'ts, and 



THE OPENING OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 97 

assail the enemy from the east, instead of from the west as he 
had intended to do. In the meantime Commodore Porter, at the 
suggestion of Gen. Grant, had made preparations to run the 
Vicksburg batteries with his ironclads and transports. The 
ironclads passed witliout harm, but of the nine transports at- 
tempting to pass the batteries, one was set on fire and burned 
to the water's edge, one was disabled and sunk, while the rest 
passed with comparatively little damage. 

Geierson's Cavalry Eaid. — Grant determined to retaliate 
for the destructive cavalry raids of Morgan, Forrest, and Van 
Dorn. Col. B. H. Grierson, starting from Lagrange, Tenn., 
with a brigade of 1,700 cavalry, swept rapidly southward 
through Mississippi and Louisiana, and entered Baton Rouge 
in sixteen days, after having traveled 600 miles, destroyed much 
property, and captured and paroled some prisoners. 

Grant's Movement upon Vicksburg from the South, 
April to July, 1863. — On the 29th of April Grant directed 
a naval attack upon Grand Gulf, which was gallantly made by 
Admiral Porter with his gunboat fleet. But as no decided ad- 
vantage could be gained, owing to the elevated position of tho 
Confederate batteries, the attack was soon abandoned. Learn- 
ing that there was a good road leading from Bruinsburg to Port 
Gibson in the rear of Grand Gulf, Grant placed his men on 
transports and crossed the river at Bruinsburg. His army had 
marched seventy miles on the west side of the river, over muddy 
roads, scarcely above the river-line. Grant crossed the river 

— 7 



98 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

with 10,000 m^n, April 30tli. They did not carry a tent or take 
a wagon. It has been said that Grant's only baggage was a tooth- 
brush. Other divisions followed soon after. On the 3d of May 
they left the river. They did not march directly on Vicksburg, 
but pushed inland to cut off communications with the city. 

Gen. J. E. Johnston was in supreme command of all Con- 
federate forces west of the Alleghanies. He had been at Chat- 
tanooga, but came to the relief of Pemberton when his situation 
became critical. Pemberton's troops, about 50,000 in all, 
were stationed from Haines Bluff on the north to Grand Gulf 
on the south, and to Jackson and Granada on the east. As 
Grant advanced toward Port Gibson, the enemy was encoun- 
tered and defeated May 1st in quite a severe battle. Grand 
Gulf fell as a result of this engagement. 

Sherman, who was conducting a feint against the enemy's 
works in the north, was ordered to join Grant's forces, while 
Grant changed his base of supplies from Bruinsburg to Grand 
Gulf. Grant then continued his march toward Jackson, en- 
countering no obstacles until near Baymond, where he met and 
defeated two of the enemy's brigades (May 12th). At Jackson 
the Confederates were again defeated (May 14th), and driven 
from the city. 

I'he Confederate main body, numbering 25,000 men, under 
Gen. Pemberton, marched out from Vicksburg to meet Grant's 
invading army. At Champion Hills they were defeated with 
considerable loss. May 16th, and retreated toward the works of 
Vicksburg, pursued by the Union troops. Making a stand near 



THE OPENING OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 99 

the Big Black river, the Confederates again met witli defeat 
(May 17th), and then fell back to the friendly shelter within 
the fortifications of Yicksburg. 

An immediate assault on the land defenses of Vicksbiirg was 
determined npon by Grant, who apprehended an attack on his 
rear by Johnston, strongly reinforced from Bragg's army. 
Accordingly, a general assault was made on the afternoon of 
^Fay 19th, which resulted in no advantage to the Union troops. 
The next two days were devoted to bringing up and distributing 
provisions and to a preparation for a more determined attack. 
The assault upon the well-fortified defenses of the Confederates 
was made with great spirit, but resulted in the decimation of 
the ranks as they advanced. The troops were finally recalled 
from the advanced and imperiled positions which they had 
taken, and settled down to the siege of the Confederate strong- 
hold. The Union loss was about 3,000 killed and wounded in 
this wasteful assault. 

Siege of Vicksbueg, and Sureender on- July 4; 1863. — 
Vicksburg was now completely invested. Porter's gunboats 
prevented escape by water, or succor from the Louisiana side. 
And Grant, keeping a sharp lookout for Johnston in the rear, 
commenced digging his way into Vicksburg from the east, with 
a force not much superior in number to that which he had beaten 
at Champion Hills and the Big Black. Pemberton was notably 
short of both provisions and ammunition ; 6,000 of his men were 
in the hospital, sick or wounded ; his hopes of relief were slender. 
Grant's men were in good spirits, and, since the day of the un- 



100 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

lucky assault, he had received reinforcements. Klines were 
sprung under Confederate forts, and breastworks thrown up in 
advance of the Union army as it gradually worked its way 
toward Vicksburg. But whih^ the troops were digging mines 
from without, famine silently at Avork within the Confederate 
ranks was more persuasive than bullet-shot or saber-cut. 

Finally, after forty-five days of siege, Pemberton, hopeless 
of relief, and at the end of his resources, hung out the white 
flag, and surrendered his army and the city on the 4th of July. 

As a result of this campaign in and about Vicksburg the 
enemy lost about 10,000 men killed and wounded, and 37,000 
prisoners, which includes those taken before the siege. 

Gen. Grant reports his losses in this memorable campaign, 
from the day he landed at Bruinsburg until that of the surren- 
der, at 9-1:5 killed, 7,005 wounded, and 537 missing. 

This was by far the most disastrous blow to the Confederacy 
that had yet been given. 'No other campaign of the war exceeds 
this in brilliancy of conception and in successful prosecution. 

Gen. Johnston had been using every exertion to raise an army 
strong enough to fall upon the rear of Grant's army and raise 
Ihe siege of Vicksburg. Gen. Sherman was sent with a force 
to hold Johnston in check. Xot being able to meet Gen. Sher- 
man in a pitched battle, »rohnston began njiorating down alonn 
the Big Black river, with the probable intention of forming a 
junction with Pemberton, and of cutting a way out for liim. 
But before this could be attenij)l('(l, Pemberton snri'endered* his 
famishe(l army. Gen. flohnston, hearing ot" the surrender of the 



THE OPENING OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 101 

Confederate army, marclied eastward, pursued by Sherman, to 
Jackson, where a small engagement occurred. During the night 
he hurried across the Pearl river, and continued his retreat 
through Brandon to Morton. 

On June 6th a force of Confederates from Arkansas made 
an unsuccessful attempt to take Milliken's Bend. Just prior 
to the fall of Port Hudson, Confederate General Holmes with 
9,000 men tried to take Helena, held by General Prentiss with 
a force less than one-half as large as that of his assailant, but 
failed. 

Sherman pursued Johnston's army as far as Brandon, but 
realizing that the enemy had escaped, he returned to his old 
position about Vicksburg. Thus ended one of the greatest, and 
in many respects most important campaigns of the Civil War. 

Surrender of Port Hudson, July 8, 1863. — General 
l^athaniel P. Banks assumed command of the department of 
the Gulf, Dec. 11, 1862, with a force of 30,000; but he sent 
detail after detail until his available troops to operate against 
Port Hudson was only 14,000. He was expected to cooperate 
with Gen. Grant in his efforts to open the Mississippi and expel 
the Confederates bearing arms in Louisiana and Texas. Gen. 
Gardner was in command of Port Hudson, with a force equal 
to that under Banks. He was well fortified. Two spirited 
attacks w^ere made upon the Confederate defenses, on May 27th 
and June 14th. Banks,^having gained no permanent advantage, 
settled down to the employment of the same methods for the 
reduction of the place as Grant was using at Vicksburg, namely. 



102 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

di^gin^ his way to the breastworks of the enemy, and reducing; 
the efficient defense by cutting oif all supplies and succor. 

About 2,500 of the enemy's cavalry were in the rear of 
Gen. Banks's army. Gen. Jos. E. Johnston, at Jackson, was 
in danger of swooping down at any moment. Fresh rein- 
forcements from Alabama and Georgia sufficient to raise tlic 
siege might be expected. Gen. R. E. Lee, so recently vic- 
torious at Chancellorsville, might send a relief corps by rail to 
Gardner. In vain the garrison looked for reinforcements. The 
ammunition for small arms was gradually expended, until but 
twenty roimds per man remained; and but little more for the 
artillery. The meat gave out, and mules were killed and served 
as food. Rats were cooked and oaten, and pronounced as 
good as squirrels. Considering the enervated condition of the 
troops, the enemy made a gallant defense. Suddenly, on July 
6th, the Union batteries shook the heavens with tremendous 
salutes, while cheer after cheer from behind the Avorks, and from 
the gunboats, rolled to the hills, reverberating the good tidings 
that Vicksburg had surrendered. The news of this disaster to 
the Confederacy made it folly to resist any longer. Gen. Gard- 
ner accordingly opened negotiations with Banks, and uiuler the 
terms of capitulation the garrison became prisoners of war »luly 
9th. The Union troops took possession of the city. The loss to 
Banks's army in this campaign of forty days was about 3,000 
men. The number of prisoners taken at the Port was 6,408, 
but the number captured in -the whole campaign was 10,584 
men, besides many guns, arms, etc. 



r 



THE OPENING OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 103 

Gen. Banks, after his victory at Port Hudson, led an expedi- 
tion of 6,000 into Texas by way of the Rio Grande. After 
taking Brownsville and Point Isabel, and leaving Gen. Dana 
in command at the' former place, he returned to 'New Orleans. 

With the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson came the undis- 
puted navigation of the Mississippi. Only local and partisan 
hostilities were conducted on it after this. One of the objective 
l^oints of the war was accomplished. The great river remained 
open to the close of the war, in undisputed possession of Na- 
tional authority. 



CHAPTEK VIII. 

BRAGG'S INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 

Movement to Chattanooga, 1802. — The Confederate vet- 
erans tliat had confronted Grant at Sliiloh and Corinth re- 
treated to Tupelo. After the fall of these places the enemy's 
efforts were directed to the defense of two strongholds — Chat- 
tanooga on the east, and Vicksbnrg on the west. The events of 
the struggle for possession of the latter place have already been 
given. Gen. Braxton Bragg, now in command of the Confed- 
erate armies west of the mountains, abandoned his position at 
Tupelo, and moved his troops via the Mobile railroad to Chat- 
tanooga. His army had been increased by conscription to 
45,000 men, and was organized in three corpSj under Hardee, 
Bishop Polk, and Kirby Smith, respectively. Gen. Buell left 
Corinth on the 10th of June for Chattanooga by way of the 
Memphis & Charleston Bailroad, which had been destroyed 
by the enemy. The rebuilding of the road under instructions 
from Gen. Halleck consumed much time. The Confederates 
profited by this delay, and on the 29th of July they entered 
Chattanooga before the arrival of the Union army, and estab- 
lished headquarters there. 

Invasion of Kentucky, 1862-03. — The Confederates con- 
ceived the bold plan of carrying the war farther north. McClel- 
lan's campaign before Itiehniond had proved a failure, and 

(104) 



BRAGG 'S INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 105 

led to the invasion of Maryland by Lee. Simultaneous with 
Lee's movement north, Bragg started on his invasion of Ken- 
tucky. He had been assured that many Kentuckians were 
awaiting an opportunity to join the Southern cause. He ex- 
pected a general uprising in favor of the Confederacy to attend 
his march north, and hoped finally to recover Tennessee and 
west Kentucky from I^ational authority. 

Louisville with its immense resources was the immediate 
object of his gigantic raid, though Cincinnati was thought also 
to be within his purview. Buell supposed that Bragg would 
endeavor to get possession of ^Rashville. To avoid this, Buell 
concentrated the bulk of his forces at Murfreesboro. While he 
was doing this, Bragg stole a march on him, and set out for 
Louisville. 

Gei^. Kieby Smith at Kichmond, Ky., August 29, 1862. — 
As Grant was conducting his magnificent campaign in the West, 
driving the enemy farther and farther south, portions of Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee became exposed to the Confederate raid- 
ers, — Morgan, Forrest, and other chieftains who overran the 
State. Gen. Kirby Smith, who played an important part in the 
Battle of Bull Run, uniting these bands, marched forward from 
Knoxville as the advance guard of Bragg's army. Passing 
through Big Creek Gap of the Cumberland mountains, he 
pushed rapidly northward through London to Richmond, Ky. 
Here he encountered, August 16, 1862, a Union force under 
Gen. Nelson. In the battle which followed, the Federal troops 
were badly defeated, with a loss of several thousand prisoners. 



106 THE CIVIL WAR EY CAMPAIGNS. 

Nelsr)ii liinisclf was killed. After liis success at KicliiiKtiid, 
Smith foiiiid little opposition at Lexin^lon, Frankfort, Paris, 
and Cynthiana. lie was within one day's march of CMiiciimati, 
whose citizens, nnder the direction of Gen. Lew Wallace, were 
making vigorons efforts to receive him, when he again fell l)ack 
to Frankfort and Lexington to effect a jnnction with Bragg. 

Euell's March to Louisville, September, 18()2. — When 
Bnell discovered that the true object of the Confederates was 
Louisville, and not Nashville, as their first movements seemed 
to indicate, he set out on a great race for that place. He left a 
garrison at Nashville, and by forced marches he succeeded in 
reaching Louisville, Sept. 25th, — about one day in advance of 
his competitor, who had been delayed on account of a burnt 
bridge at Bardstown. At Louisville Buell received large rein- 
forcements. Most were in the shape of raw troops, but some 
were veterans sent up the Mississippi and Ohio from Grant's 
army. His forces had thus been augmented, until they num- 
bered 100,000 men. ,^^>, : v,,.. s-«wp! h.-.^; 

Battle of Perryville, Oct. 8, 1802.— Buell had faile(l to 
gain possession of Chattanooga, and permitted Bragg to invade 
the State of Kentucky. His delays were very distasteful to the 
authorities at AVashington. Orders were issued in the latter 
part of September relieving him of the command of the army. 
Thomas was a])pointed to succeed him. But tliis al)l(^ and niag- 
naninious soldiei- ])leaded earnestly for tlie retention of Buell, 
with the eti'ect that the order was sus^jended and Buell retained. 



Cainni[paoginis of 
EtUELL & IB)1RA(Q(G 

^ouZ-a. o-/ Un/'of] ^rrriiy shocun i n ^ae/. 




BRAGG's invasion of KENTUCKY. 107 

This reminder of the desires of the Federal authorities awa- 
kened Biiell to a determination to meet the enemy. He accord- 
ingly set out to find his opponent. 

Gen. Bragg in his march north i)assed through Pineville, 
Carthage, Glasgow, and Munfordsville, to Bardstown. Leaving 
Bishop Polk temporarily in command of the troops, Bragg went 
to Frankfort, which had been occupied by Smith's command, to 
witness the inauguration of Richard Hawes as Confederate 
Governor of the State. The booming of cannon announced the 
near presence of Union troops, and cut short the inaugural ad- 
' dress of the pretended Governor, Avho was obliged to seek safety 
I by a hasty departure. Buell moved forward to attack the 

I enemy, now posted at Bardstown. Bragg commenced a slow 

I 

( retreat, and Buell came upon Hardee's division at Perryville. 

I Polk soon joined Hardee and both fell heavily upon McCook's 
1 division of BuelFs army. The battle continued during the day 
I of October 8th, with great severity. But during the night the 
enemy decamped, and "retreated to Harrodsburg, where they 
were joined by Kirby Smith. The Union loss in this battle in 
killed, wounded and missing was about 3,300, while the Confed- 
erate loss was about 2,500. 

The Federal army did not pursue the retreating army at once. 
The battle was little better than a drawn engagement. Xo de- 
cided advantage had been gained. Bragg had, of course, failed 
to reach Louisville, and now he was made to retreat southward, 
but in no great fear of disaster to his troops. His retreat was 
conducted through Cumberland Gap, and ended at Chattanooga. 



108 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

He succeeded in carryiiiii," off Inindrcds of waiioii-lnnds of pro- 
visions, clotliiiiii', and other necessaries for the army, lie drove 
with hiin thousands of beeves^ horses, and inides, and carried 
away an imniensc amount of groceries and (hjmestic goods 
gathered from the stores of Lexington^ Frankfort, DanviHe, and 
other places. 

In consequence of BuelFs slow pursuit, Bragg was permitted 
to conduct a safe retreat without having been attacked more 
than once in a period of five months. Gen. Ifalleck desired 
Buell to undertake a campaign in eastern Tennessee, still occu- 
pied by the enemy. Buell believed it utterly impossible to 
supply the army with food, at places remote from the railroad. 
The project was abandoned, and the Union troops again con- 
centrated at Nashville. 

The Federal Government, much displeased witli tlie iiuic- 
tivity and dilatory movements of Buell, removed liim from the 
command, Oct. 30th, 1802. Gen. Rosecrans, wdio had figured 
prominently at Corinth and luka, superseded him. 

The result of the Kentucky campaign was no more satisfac- 
tory to the Confederate government than to the jSTational author- 
ity. Both sides expected decisive results, and neither ol>taiii(Ml 
them. Scarcely had Bragg reached Chattanooga, wlicn lie was 
ordered to move northward again. He moved his liead(puirters 
to Tullahoma, and then to Murfreesboro. 

Battle of Mukfreeshoro, December 31, January 2, 1803. 
Gen. Bosecrans on assuming command of the Army of the Ohio 
(hereafter to be known as the Army of the Cumberland) found 



BEAGG's invasion of KENTUCKY. 109 

it greatly demoralized by long ma relies and indecisive results. 
Of the 100,000 men on the muster-rolls, 26,482 were absent by 
'authority. Most of these, but not nearly all, were sick or 
wounded and in the hospitals ; 6,484 were absent without au- 
'thority, — or in other words, had deserted. His effective force 
numbered about 65,000 men. His cavalry was inferior in 
jnumber and efficiency to the troops of Forrest and Morgan, 
'who rode around at will, stripping posts and supply trains. 
'The two armies lay watching each other, the one at Nashville, 
the other at Murfreesboro. Rosecrans had given the impression 
jthat he would remain in winter quarters at Nashville. Bragg 
I sent a strong cavalry detachment under Morgan and Forrest 
|to work upon the supply trains and break the Union communica- 
itions. Rosecrans was busily engaged in collecting a supply of 
food. Suddenly, on the 26th of December, he broke camp and 
moved forward. His march was commenced in the rain. The 
! Confederates had celebrated Christmas with much gayety at 
Murfreesboro. Their outposts retreated before the Union ad- 
vance. Their cavalry, supported by some militia, skirmished 
with the advancing patriots. The immediate object was the 
defeat of Bragg's army, and the ultimate object was to get 
possession of Chattanooga. The Union troops present on the 
eve of battle numbered 43,000 strong. The Confederate army 
was reported by Bragg as 38,000, though their number is placed 
as high as 62,000 by some authorities. 

Gen. Bragg had placed his army along the bluffs of Stone 
river, near Murfreesboro. Here, on the last day of the year. 



110 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

coinmonccd one of the most sanguinary battles of the war — 
called the battle of Mnrfreesboro, or Stone rivef. 

Kosecrans' ])lan of battle was to throw his left niider Crit- 
tenden across Stone river, and assail the CN)nfederate right in 
force while his own right should stand on the defensive. CUi- 
riously enough, Bragg had planned precisely the same tactics. 
He placed his right on the defensive, and sent his left to crush 
the Union right. Under such circumstances the army moving 
first on a vigorous attack upon the opposing forces would carry 
the day. While Rosecrans' left was crossing the river to o})eu 
battle, his right was furiously assailed, and so unexpectedly 
that two batteries were taken before a gun could be fired. The 
Confederate success was decisive. The onslaught paralyzed 
Itosecrans' aggressive movement. He had to withdraw his left 
for the ]>ur])ose of saving his right. The Union troops Avere 
driven back. Ttosecrans re-formed his lines. His artillery was 
posted on a knoll surrounded by a ]>lain. Against this lu'w line 
the Confederates dashed themselves desperately but vainly. 
Four times the hitherto victotious army was hurled back with 
great loss. But the result of the first day's conflict was, on the 
whole, decidedly in favor of the Confederates. Tluy had tjikcn 
one-half of the ground on which the Union army had encamped 
in the morning, and had s(^ized twenty eight of the Tnion large 
guns. The enemy's cavalry had committed much havoc nj»on 
Bosecrans' baggage and su]")]ilv trains, and the Union army had 
lost heavily in killeil niid wounded. 

Many a general \\(»uhl ha\-e calculated at the close of the day 



BEAGG's invasion of KENTUCKY. Ill 

how best to get back to ISTashville. Gen. Rosecrans, However, 
took stock of his ammunition, and found that he had sufficient 
left for another battle. The assault of the enemy upon the 
position to which Rosecrans' army had retreated in the after- 
noon, had demonstrated his ability to hold his ground here. 
Giving orders to issue all the ammunition, and marshalling his 
I troops for every advantage, he lay down with his army to await 
. the arrival of 'New Year's Day. He had expected to keep the 
, holiday quietly unless Bragg should desire to renew the 
i conflict. Both armies maintained their respective positions 
' throughout the day, with only an occasional artillery duel or a 
! random skirmish encounter. 

j On Jan. 2d the Confederates opened fire with great vehe- 
I mence from batteries which they had planted before the Union 
I center and left. At first their strength was overwhelming, but 
I reinforcements being thrown upon them, they were hurled 
I back in disorder, with heavy loss in killed, wounded and pris- 
I oners. Darkness had now set in, which prevented Kosecrans 
I pressing the advantage he had gained. A pouring rain next day 
I softened the earth, and impeded the movements of the artillery. 
Gen. Bragg however concluded to leave, and commenced the 
1 movement as stealthily as possible, near midnight. He gath- 
ered up his men and gims so cautiously that even the Federal 
pickets knew nothing of his movements until daylight next 
morning, Sunday, the 4th. 

The manner in which the operations upon the rear of the 
j Union army were resisted reflected little credit on the skill and 



112 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

energy of those wlio conunanded. About two thousand pris- 
oners, mostly stragglers and fugitives, were taken by the Con- 
federates, and a large auKnint of baggage and army trains was 
taken or destroyed, whieli no doubt greatly impaired Rosecrans' 
ability to pursue successfully the retreating foe. 

Rosecrans made no movement in pursuit of the Confederates 
until the next day. In his official report he says : " We learned 
that the enemy's infantry had reached Shelby ville by 12 ^r. on 
Sunday; but owing to the impracticability of bringing up sup- 
plies, and the loss of 557 artillery horses, pursuit was deemed 
inadvisable.'' 

Rosecrans reported his losses at 1,533 killed, w^ounded Y,000, 
and 3,000 prisoners. Bragg reported his losses at 10,000, of 
whom 9,000 were killed and wounded. The Union losses Avere 
some greater than those of the Confederates, but the great dis- 
aster of the first day was turned into a dearly purchased victory 
the second, by the gallantry, obstinacy and heroism of Rosecrans 
and his men. 

Among those who figured prominently in the Union army 
were Gen. McCook, in command of the Union right division; 
Gen. Thomas, in command of the center ; and Gen. Crittenden, 
in command of the left. 

Bragg retreated to Shelbyville and Tullahoma. Rosecrans 
remained inactive at Murfreesboro until late in the summer 
of 18G3. 

Morgan's Raid into Indiana and Ohio, 18G2. — Wliile Gen. 
Rosecrans at Murfreesboro was accumulating wagons, muni- 



BRAGG S INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 



113 



J - 




114 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

tioiis and supplies for an advance against Gen. Bragg's army 
confronting him at Shelbyville, the noted and generally suc- 
cessful cavalry leader, Gen. John H. Morgan, was preparing 
for a more (extended and daring cavalry raid than he had yet 
undertaken. Setting out from Sparta, east and a little noi-tli 
of ^furfreesboro, June 27, 1802, Morgan crossed the Cum- 
berland river at Burkesville with a force of 2,028 effectives, and 
four guns. Cohunbia was partially sacked by his subordinates, 
contrary to orders. Col. Moore, hastily intrenching himself 
with a force of 200 men, by constructing an abatis, at Green 
river, valiantly repelled the invaders on the "glorious Fourth." 

After attacking Lebanon, wdiich was gallantly defended by 
Col. Hanson with 400 men until the town was fired, compelling 
him to surrender, Gen. Morgan moved to Shepardsville. 

He struck the Ohio at Brandenburg, forty miles below Louis- 
ville, and, seizing three steamboats, crossed to the Indiana side. 
During his progress through Kentucky he had increased his 
command, by the addition of Kentucky sympathizers, to 4,000 
troops and ten guns. 

^Forgan sped iidand through Corydon and Palmyra to Salem, 
Tnd., where he captured 350 " Ifome Guards." Passing on in 
zigzag lines in an easterly direction through Vienna, tearing up 
railroads, cutting telegra])hs, burning factories, and inciting 
dismay among the inhabitants, he ])assed Versailles, Harrison, 
and within seven miles of Cincinnati ; then by Williamsburg, 
Sardinia, Piketon, and Jackson. He struck the Ohio at P>utling- 
ton Island, not far below Parkersburg, whence he expected an 



BRAGG's invasion of KENTUCKY. 115 

easy escape througli the poor and thinly settled region of West 
Virginia and eastern Kentucky, to the more congenial shades of 
southwestern Virginia. His troops levied on granaries, barns 
and kitchens as they marched, but the pursuit was so warm at 
times along the route that they found comparatively little time 
for predatory mischief. "" 

There had been some skirmishes from day to day, but the 
raiders were too strong for any force that could be assembled 
on the instant, while their route could not be foreseen ; and their 
movements were too rapid for the pursuing forces, over roads 
on which bridges had been destroyed and obstacles cast to im- 
pede the progress of the pursuers. 

Gen. Hobson, who had been following from the Cumberland 
river, arrived at Brandenburg just after the last boat which 
aided in conveying Morgan's troops across the Ohio had dis- 
appeared. He had foreseen that Morgan would again return to 
the Ohio, and sent at once to Louisville to have the river 
patrolled by gunboats. As soon as it became evident that he 
was making for Pomeroy or Gallipolis with intent to cross, the 
inhabitants felled trees across the roads, and imposed obstacles 
to impede the celerity of their progress. 

The weary raiders struck the Ohio just at daylight, at a ford 
a little above Pomeroy. Preparations for crossing the river 
were hastily made, but a volley of musketry upon the advance 
companies attempting to cross, followed by the roar of cannon 
down the river from the gunboats, and supplemented by the 
appearance of three heavy columns of infantry at the bluffs and 



116 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

in tlie rear and on their right, pnt the fugitives to flight. They 
left their guns and wagons; dismounted men and the sick and 
wounded to the number of 600 were taken ])ris(>iier>?, whih^ the 
rest took a precipitous flight up along the river in pursuit of an 
avenue of escape. 

Passing up the river about fourteen miles to Belleville, Mor- 
gan and his remaining men had fairly begun, at 3 p. m., to swim 
tlieir horses across (330 having gotten away), when Generals 
Ilobson and Shackleford, in command of a division of pursuers, 
were again upon them. The gunboats also appeared, bringing 
several regiments to share in the liunt. As there was no hope in 
fighting, all that now remained (over 1,000), excepting Morgan' 
and a few adherents who escaped, capitulated without further 
resistance. 

Morgan, now stripped of his guns and wagons and miscella- 
neous plunder which he had collected, passed inland witli the 
remnant of his force to IVfcArthur, making a forlorn attempt to 
cross the Ohio at Marietta. They then passed to Eastpm-t, 
thence to 'New Lisbon. Here they were driven to a high bluff 
and surrounded by the home guards and their pursuers, ever on 
their track. 

Gen. Morgan and several of his oflicers were taken to Colum- 
bus, and confined in the pciiitentiarv. 'Hieir lieads were shaved, 
like those of ordinary felons, for whicli no reason has been as- 
signed, nor does it a])pear by whom it was ordered, — cei-taiuly 
not by the Government. Xo labor was required of them, but 
they were confined in cells. Seven of them, includiiiii' AI organ, 



BRAGG's invasion of KENTUCKY. 117 

dug their way out and escaped. Morgan and Captain Hines, 
after changing their clothes, proceeded at once to the depot, got 
on the train, which they knew would start at 1 a. m., and were 
carried by it very near Cincinnati, when they put on the brakes 
at the rear of the train, checking its speed, and jumped off and 
ran to the Ohio river. Tl^ey were ferried across to Kentucky, 
and went at once to a house where shelter and refreshments 
awaifed them. 

Morgan made his way through Kentucky and Tennessee to 
northern Georgia, losing his companion by the way. Thence he 
went to Eichmond, where he was received in great ovation, and 
again entered the Confederate service in east Tennessee, where 
he was killed the next year, — thus ending a daring and brilliant 
career which was directed against the perpetuity of the Union. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CHATTANOOGA. 

Campaign Against Ciiattanoog«\., 1863. — Gen. Rosecrans 
remained in Murfreesboro until late in June. His supplies had 
been mainly drawn from Louisville, through a semi-hostile 
country, over a single railroad. It required a heavy guard at 
every depot, bridge, or trestle, to protect them from destruction 
by the enemy's raiders. His cavalry was no match, as had been 
proven by past experiences, for the Confederate horse, com- 
manded by such vigorous and audacious partisans as Morgan, 
Forrest, and Wheeler. Though Rosecrans' best efforts were 
given to the strengthening of his cavalry, he could hardly ob- 
tain horses fast enough to replace those destroyed by the enemy 
or worn out by service. 

Bragg had 18,000 infantry under Bishop Polk at Shelbyville, 
strongly intrenched and formidably fortified behind five miles 
of earthworks. Eighteen miles back of this, in a mountain 
region traversed by bad roads, was another intrenched camp, at 
Tullalioma. Hardee's corps of 12,000 was at Wartrace, to the 
right of Shelbyville. Besides these, Bragg had troops at Knox- 
ville and Chattanooga. Perhaps 40,000 was the number he 
could concentrate upon the field of battle, while Bosecrans had 
not less than 60,000. If Bragg fell back, destroying railroads 
and bridges, he would be strengthened; while Rosecrans would 

(118) 



CHATTANOOGA. 119 

be compelled to extend and protect liis communications, and 
thus his available force for battle would be reduced. 

Gen. Rosecrans began his advance on June 24th, and, in a 
series of brilliant flank movements, succeeded in dislodging the 
enemy from his intrenched camp at Tullalioma and Shelby ville ; 
and in nine days, without any serious engagement, he had 
cleared middle Tennessee of the Confederate army, at a cose of 
barely 560 men. The Confederates lost as many killed and 
wounded, besides 1,634 prisoners who fell into the hands of 
the Union troops. 

Bragg retreated toward Chattanooga, a Confederate strong- 
hold, the key to eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia. Hav- 
ing obtained a fair start while Rosecrans was preparing to fight, 
and having the use of a railroad Avhereon to transport his guns 
and supplies, Bragg easily made good his flight over the Cum- 
berland mountains and across the Tennessee river at Bridgeport, 
where he destroyed the railroad bridge behind him. 

Rosecrans was expected by the authorities at Washington to 
follow him sharply. Considerable delay occurred from the 
time he commenced his movement in pursuit of the fugitives 
until he appeared before Chattanooga. Bragg's devouring host 
had left in that rugged and sterile region no vestige of food for 
the Union army. To supply men and beasts with subsistence in 
that mountainous district was no easy task. After the railroad 
had been repaired to Stevenson, and the East Tennessee road to 
Bridgeport, and a considerable quantity of supplies accumulated 
at Stevenson, the army moved on toward Chattanooga. It 



120 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

ci'nsscd tlie Trmiessoc river at Bridgeport and Shell Mound on 
S("|)tciiil)('r 8tli^ and tlie several corps pushed forward across 
hiiilj niid-steep mountains, to concentrate at Trenton, Ga., in the 
vnllcy of Lookout creek, which runs northeasterly into the Ten- 
nessee just below Chattanooga. 

Gen. Bragg was in a quandary. He could hold Chattanooga 
against an assault by Rosecrans' larger army, but if his com- 
munications should be cut off from his rear it would be only a 
question of time when his army would be starved into capitula- 
tion. To divide his forces, or to remain cooped up in Chat- 
tanooga, were both suicidal. To abandon Chattanooga was to 
evacuate the only remaining Confederate stronghold in Ten- 
nessee, lie chose the latter, evacuated Chattanooga, and saved 
his army, — what Pemberton attempted to do at Vicksburg when 
it was too late. Bragg retired southward into Georgia, posting 
his divisions along the highway from Gordon's Mill to Lafayette, 
facing Pigeon Mountain, through whose passes the Union army 
was expected to come from McLamore's Cave. Gen. Critten- 
den of Rosecrans' army took peaceful possession of Chattanooga, 
and, stationing a garrison there, pursued the enemy up along 
the East Chickamauga creek to Ringgold and Dahon. The rest 
of the Union army should, according to plans, pass through Dug- 
Gap of Pigeon Mountain, and swoop down upon the enemy at 
Lafayette. 

Concentration of Confederate Troops, September, 
1863. — While tliese preparations and movements were going on 
in the Union camp, Bragg was silently collecting around La- 



CHATTANOOGA. 121 

fajette tlie most numerous and effective army west of the 
Alleghanies, which had ever yet supported the Confederate 
cause. Gen. Buckner had been called from Knoxville, aban- 
doning eastern Tennessee to Burnside; Johnston sent a strong 
division under Walker from the region of the Mississippi ; and 
Lee, having satisfied himself that Richmond was in no danger 
J from Meade, dispatched Longstreet's heavy corps of veteran 
troops from the Rapidan. All available troops that could be 
gleaned in Georgia were sent to the front. Rosecrans estimated 
Bragg's entire force as thus strengthened at 92,000 — a great 
! excess over his own forces. Making all allowance for incorrect- 
I ness of estimates, there is scarcely any doubt that the Confed- 
( erate force outnumbered the Federal. 

I Rosecrans, believing that the Confederates Avere on the retreat 
I toward Rome, separated his divisions for the purpose of inter- 
1 cepting the retreat and of crushing the enemy between his col- 
umns, — the same tactics which proved fatal to Hooker's army 
at Chancellorsville. . 

Whatever may have been Bragg's intention before he received 
the reinforcement, he afterwards determined to meet his adver- 
sary in battle. 

Rosecrans had not been informed, as he should have been, by 

I Meade or Halleck at Washington, that a heavy corps had been 

sent from Lee's army, probably to reinforce Bragg. On the 

contrary, Gen. Halleck had informed Rosecrans that deserters 

had reported to him that a part of Bragg's army was reinforc- 

i ing Lee. 



122 TOE (^IVIL WAR HY CAMPAIGNS. 

IJattM': of ('iiicKAMAiMJA, 8k I'TKM BKi; IM 20, 1S(;,3. — Gen. 
Rosocrans l\v tliis tiiiio was aware that the situation liad become 
serious, and hri^an a concentration of his army, wliicli numlH'rf'd 
55,000 strouii', while tlic Confederate army now confronting his 
was estimated hy the best authority at 70,000. 

The battle opened on the morning of September lUtli, by Gen. 
Bragg's attempt to gain possession of the road to Chattanooga, 
and it continued during the day. The Confederates had doubt- 
less suffered a greater loss of men thus far and had gained no 
ground for which the Federal army contended. But the Union 
s(d(liers were clearly outnumbered ; and now^ they felt it. Every 
brigade had been uiuler heavy fire during the day, while the 
Confederates had several yet in reserve. Rosecrans had no 
reinforcements at hand, and could not expect any. Five Con- 
federate brigades, fresh from Virginia, came up during the 
night, and were })laced where the experience of the day showed 
they were most needed. Gen. Longstreet came up and took 
command of their right wing. He was himself w^orth a whole 
regiment. The two armies, equally brave, equally well disci- 
plined, and equally well handled, but unequal in number, lay 
facing each other for tlie inevitable conilict on the morrow. 

A fog having ol)structe(l the o])erations of the armies, the 
conflict opened late next morning, Sunday, September 20th, 
and raged with great fury during that day. Though the gallant 
defenders of the Union made a valiant and persistent effort to 
drive oft" the foe, they were assailed with equal valor and forti- 
tude, and finally driven from the held of action. 



CHATTANOOGA. 123 

Rosecrans retreated to Chattanooga and intrenched his army 
behind the formidable fortifications. Gen. Bragg followed next 
day, taking quiet possession of Lookout Mountain and Mission- 
ary Ridge, whence he looked down into the coveted stronghold, 
never again destined to fall into Confederate hands. 

Gen. Bragg has been assailed by the Confederates for not 
pursuing the Union army into Chattanooga on the evening of 
the 20th. But human endurance has a limit. His men had 
been marching their hardest and fighting their best for two 
days, with scarcely a pause. He had lost tw^o-fifths of his army. 
Bragg in his official report tersely says : ^^ The darkness of the 
night and the density of the forest rendered further movement 
I uncertain and dangerous; and the army bivouacked on the 
ground it had so gallantly won." 

Gen. Thomas did not retreat to Chattanooga, but stopped at 
Bossville with 25,000 men to intercept the advance of the enemy 
upon the former place. It seems as though Bragg might have 
improved his victory by dislodging the Union troops at Boss- 
ville, and by driving them into Chattanooga. 

Gen. Longstreet, seeing the army in full retreat, urged Gen. 
Bragg to order a general advance in pursuit of their adversary, 
just as Gen. Pleasonton, after the battle of Gettysburg, had 
urged Gen. Meade to do, — and with the same effect. 

The Federal losses in battle are officially stated at 16,351 
in killed and wounded. Mr. Greeley in his ''American Conflict" 
adds that it is perfectly safe to increase this number by strag- 



124 THE CIVIL WAR ]JY CAMPAIGNS. 

.lik'i's and iiiii)crfect returns to 20,000. Bra^g admits a loss of 
18,000, of whom 16,000 must have been killed and wounded. 

Gen. Bragi;- had Avon an unmistakable victory, but its fruits 
liad onded witli the battle-field. His arms had triumplicd, but 
Jie liad lost the strategic point of the campaign, — the possession 
of Chattanooga. When he advanced in force and appeared be- 
fore the Federal fortifications, not even the fiercest fire-eater was 
ready to storm the defense behind which Rosecrans stood, ready 
to repeat the lesson he gave Price and Van Dorn at Corinth. 

Bragg could not carry the coveted stronghold by storm, lie 
was urged to move across the Tennessee and advance to Nash- 
ville. Ho perceived the folly and probable ruin of his army 
in this. His recent reinforcements, constituting half his army, 
had come by rail, without wagon or horse. One-third of his 
artillery horses had been lost on the field of battle. A formida- 
ble river had to be crossed without pontoons, railroads had been 
destroyed, and the offensive movement was pregnant with diffi- 
culties sufficient to bring apparent ruin to the army. 

On the other hand, with the Union army in Chattanooga too 
weak in its present state to meet him in open battle, he com- 
manded the undisputed navigation of the river, and controlled 
all the railroads radiating from that city. Union supplies had 
to be brought in wagons over mountain roads of inconceivable 
badness. Forage and food were very scarce, and for a time the 
troops were put on short allowance, while thousands of horses 
starved, or were worked to death in wagoning supplies over the 



CHATTANOOGA. 125 

mountains. So Bragg settled down to the siege of Chattanooga, 
expecting to starve the Union army into capitulation. 

While Rosecrans was cooped np in Chattanooga, he received, 
October 19, an order relieving him of the command of the army. 
Gen. George H. Thomas succeeded him. 

Expedition" foe the Relief of Eastertst Tetnti^essee, Sum- 
mer OF 18 Go. — Burnside, who had been relieved of the com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac and placed at the head of 
the Department of the Ohio, proceeded throngh Kentucky for 
the liberation of the crushed and suffering loyal people of 
eastern Tennessee. In July and August he collected an army 
of 20,000 men at Camp kelson, near Richmond, Ky., and com- 
menced his march on Knoxville, at the same time that Rosecrans 
moved on Chattanooga. He met Avith little resistance. At 
passes where a regiment ^nd battery might have temporarily 
repelled a corps, not a shot was fired. The flight of the Con- 
federates at all points wdiich the Union army touched was 
unexpected and misconstrued. Burnside believed that the re- 
cent ]^ational triumph at Vicksburg, Port Hudson and Gettys- 
burg had disheartened the enemy, and collapsed the Rebellion 
in that region. 

This was a mistake: Buckner was simply withdrawing his 
force from east Tennessee to reinforce Bragg. This should 
have been discovered, and averted or counteracted by the addi- 
tion of Burnside's forces to Rosecrans' army. Burnside should 
have been under the orders of Rosecrans, but he had no 
superior except TTalleck, who failed to concentrate forces at the 



126 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

time coiieoiitration was needed. Rosecrans could not give any 
orders to Ihirnside, wlio in turn liad no idea of tlio former's 
danger, wliieli in fact was not in line of his prescrilxMl duty. 
ITe proceeded for the recovery of eastern Tennessee. Ilis a})- 
pearance was hailed with delight by the Unionists who had been 
f(n*ced into Confederate service, or into a manifestation of 
Sonthern allegiance under penalty of death. Long-hidden 
Xational flags now waved from many a house. Bounteous suj)- 
plies of food, unsolicited, and cheers and rejoicings, wcIcoukmI 
the return of Xational authority and j)i'otection. 

While the army of the Cumberland remained quietly in 
Chattanooga, the Confederates conceived the idea of sending 
a force under Longstreet for the recovery of Knoxville, recently 
taken by Burnside. Advancing silently and rapidly with a force 
estimated at 7,000, he fell upon and cai)tured the outposts of 
lMiiladel])hia, Ky. The enemy advanced through Lenoir, Lon- 
don, and Campbell's Station. Gen. Burnside retreated to his 
intrenchments in Tvnoxville. Longstreet pursued him, and on 
Xovember 17th commenced a siege on the city. Shelling mid 
skirmishing served to break the monotony for ten days. On the 
ari'ivnl of reinforcements, Longstreet delivered an assault n|)on 
the works, and met a repulse. 

While these events were occurring in and around Tvnoxville, 
(len. Hi'agg met a disastrous defeat from tlie ettmbined forces 
nnderClen. Grant; and a reli(^f ccn'j^s was seiil from (Mialtanooga 
under (ien. Sherman to raise the siege (»f Ivnoxville, whieli was 



CHATTANOOGA. 



127 




128 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

]trniii]»tlv doiio. Wlion Loiiostrect hoard of Sherman's approach, 
he iii(>v(m1 ra])iclly eastward to Russellvillo, Va. 

The Union entire loss in this side campaign was about 1,000, 
wdiile that of the enemy was two or throe times as great. 

Concentration of Union Forces at Chattanooga, Oc- 
tober AND November, 1863. — Gen. Ilalleck became thoroughly 
alarmed at the peril of Rosecrans' army at Chattanooga, too late 
to save it from the defeat at Chickamauga, but just in time to 
])rovont starvation forcing an unwilling capitulation. 

Gen. Ilalleck telegraphed to Burnside at Knoxville, Hurlbut 
at Memphis, and Grant at Vicksburg, to move troops to the sup- 
port of Eosecrans. Before Burnside made his appearance at 
Chattanooga, Bragg had defeated Rosecrans, and sent a force to 
operate against him. Grant was sick at 'New Orleans, out of 
roach of the telegram; and Sherman, who represented him at 
Vicksburg, did not receive it until it was a few days old. ITurl- 
but's corps was put in motion eastward. Gen. Ilalleck, learning i 
of the reverse at Chickamauga and not hearing from Grant or 
Sherman, on September 23d dispatched about 20,000 men, under 
the command of Gen. Hooker, to Tennessee to hold Rosecrans' 
line of communication from Nashville to Bridgeport. They 
were sent by rail from Washington through Wheeling, Cincin- 
nati, Louisville, and Nashville, to the Tennessee. Gen. Hooker 
concentrated his forces at Bridgeport, preparing to dispute with 
Bragg the right to use the river and the highway along its bank 
as an avenue for the trans})()rtation of supplies to the Union j 
troops inclosed at Chattanooga. 



CHATTANOOGA. 



129 



The road across the mountains used for this purpose imposed 
a most laborious and difficult task upon the troops. It is esti- 
mated that not less than 10,000 horses were used up in this 
service, and that it would have been impossible to supply our 
army a week longer, by reason of the exhaustion of the horses, 
and the increasing badness of the roads caused by autumn rains. 

Gen. Bragg had sent a large force of cavalry under Wheeler 
across the Tennessee river to cut oif Thomas's supplies. In the 
Sequatchie valley he captured or burned from 700 to 1,000 
wagons w^ith supplies. H.6 next struck McMinnville, in the 
heart of Tennessee, where he captured 600 men and a large 
quantity of supplies. He was pursued by Union cavalry in 
this raid, and attacked in several sharp engagements, in which 
he lost about two thousand men, killed and captured. The 
Union loss must have been greater, while the property destroyed 
was worth millions. 

Geii. Grant was placed in command of all forces now concen- 
trated around Chattanooga. He assumed nominal command at 
Louisville, Oct. 18, 1863. Telegraphing to Gen. Thomas to 
hold Chattanooga at all hazards, he received the answer, " 1 will 
hold on till we starve," and proceeded at once to the scene of 
action. 

Gen. Sherman reported to Gen. Grant at Chattanooga N'ov. 
15. The troops which he had brouglit from Vicksburg as rein- 
forcements were speedily arranged to aid in the final assault 
upon the enemy's stronghold. 



130 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Attack upon Lookout Mountain and Missionary Kidge, 
XovEMBER 2-l:-25, 18G3. — On Novoniber 24 Gen. Hooker's di- 
vision made a hrilliant assault on Lookout Mountain, upon 
wliich the enemy liad fortified itself. Hooker's men pressed 
forward in the face of a terrific fire, driving the enemy before 
tliem from their rifle-pits. On up the mountains, over boulders 
and ledges, crests and chasms, they Avent. Hooker had ordered 
his men to be halted and re-formed on reaching the summit of 
the mountain. The tide of victory carried them on over the 
summit without halting, until they had taken many prisoners 
and driven the remainder down the precipitous eastern declivity 
of the mountain, Avhen darkness arrested the progress of the 
victorious army. The enemy passed across Chattanooga valley 
and concentrated their forces on Missionary Kidge, posting their 
front behind breastworks erected by the Union troops after the 
sanguinary battle of Chickamauga. 

The next morning Hooker moved down Lookout Mountain 
and began to cooperate with Sherman and Thomas in the final 
assault upon Missionary Eidge. As the Union skirmishers ad- 
vanced, two abreast, with the whole army in easy supporting 
distance, the enemy, seized with panic, abandoned the works 
at the foot of the hill and retreated precipitately to the crest, 
closely pursued by their conquering adversary. In less than an 
hour the victorious troops had taken the summit of the ridge. 
Tlic Union troops seized the abandoned and yet-smoking guns 
of tlic ciicniy, and turned them ui)on their panic-stricken owners. 

The fall of the night ended the pursuit of the retreating foe 



CHATTANOOGA. 131 

by the Federal troops, but next day Hooker resumed pursuit 
as far as Ringgold, where he remained until Dec. 1st. 

Immediately after the battle Gen. Sherman went to the 
relief of Burnside, who was shut up in Knoxville, and com- 
pelled Longstreet to raise the siege and decamp. 

Gen. Grant estimated his loss in the series of struggles at 
757 killed, 4,529 wounded, 330 missing; total, 5,616. 

Bragg's loss in killed and wounded was comparatively light, 
since his fighting was mainly behind breastworks. On the 
whole, his army was weakened by the struggle and its results 
by about 10,000 men, and Chattanooga remained in undisputed 
possession of the Union troops. 



CHAPTER X. 

SHERMAN'S MARCH ON ATL.ANTA. 

Sherman's March on Atlanta, 1864. — When Gen. Grant 
was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General, commanding 
all the forces of the Union, Gen. W. T. Sherman was assigned 
to the command of the military division of the Mississippi, com- 
prising the Departments of the Ohio, the Cumberland, the 
Tennessee, and the Arkansas. He received the order March 
4th, 1864, at ^femphis, and proceeded to Nashville at once, 
where he met Gen. Grant, who unfolded his plans in full to his 
most trusted subordinate, and discussed at length the great 
campaigns soon to be inaugurated against Richmond and At- 
lanta. These campaigns were to begin simultaneously on the 
Rapidan and on the Tennessee. They were to be pressed s<^ 
vigorously that neither of the Confederate main armies could 
spare any troops to reinforce the other, as they had done at 
Chattanooga to the discomfiture of Gen. Rosecrans. 

When Gen. Shei'inan received final instructions from Grant, 
it was decided that the campaign should be inaugurated in the 
beginning of May. Accordingly, with the opening of May, 
Sherman left his winter quarters around Chattanooga, with an 
army now augmented to nearly 100,000. In every othei* way 
but in cavalry it was superior to the ono which cunfronlcd it. 

(133) 



: Sherman's march on Atlanta. 133 

As Sherman advanced into Georgia, the necessity of maintain- 
ing his commimications greatly reduced the force in front; 
which was probably 70,000. Johnston had about 50,000, but 
was in time considerably reinforced. 

The country from Chattanooga to Atlanta is rough and irreg- 
ular. There arc rugged mountains and deep narrow ravines, 
and broad valleys traversed by two considerable rivers, suc- 
ceeded again by a rugged mountain region with narrow and 
bad roads. 

Gen. Bragg was relieved of the command of the Army of the 
Tennessee in December, and called to Richmond, where he 
acted for a time as military adviser for Mr. Davis. Gen. J. E. 
Johnston, who had been wounded in the battle of Seven Pines, 
and afterward commanded the Confederate forces in Missis- 
sippi, was transferred to his command Dec. 18, 186-1, with 
headquarters at Dalton. Johnston's position at Dalton was 
xjovered by an impassable mountain. Sherman preferred not to 
hazard an engagement by an attack upon this position. While 
Thomas was feigning an attack upon the front, McPherson 
flanked the enemy by moving on Resaca through Snake Creek 
Gap. Johnston was compelled to evacuate his stronghold, and 
he fell rapidly back to Resaca. The Union troops occupied 
Dalton on the heels of the departing foe, and pressed sharply 
toward Resaca. 

Sherman's tactics were uniform through this campaign, 
though they varied in detail as exigencies arose. He marched 
with his center upon the enemy, while he sent a right or left 



134 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

flanking \ydrty where the nature of the country afforded best 
o})portunitics for success. 

Johnston avoided an engagement unless advantages were 
strongly in his favor. Sherman by skillful maneuvers forced 
Johnston from his stronghold. Each strove to gain an advantage 
in bringing about a conflict. Johnston hoped to be able to fall 
upon Sherman's troops and crush them after they had moved 
into the heart of the Confederate country. Sherman hoped, by 
flank movements to bring the enemy from behind earthworks, 
and tlien defeat him. The result of tlie campaign shows how 
well Sherman succeeded. His marches on Atlanta stand in 
glaring contrast with those bloody conflicts between Grant and 
Lee in the Overland Campaign. 

A second flanking movement was sent out by Sherman's 
right, to turn Johnston out of Eesaca. This was met by an 
attack upon Hooker and Schofield still in his front. The enemy 
met a repulse, and lost about 3,000. Sherman's loss was some 
less. Johnston retreated, and attempted to make a stand at 
Adairsville against the Union center, but on the approacli of the 
main body he continued his retreat to Cassville and Kingston. 
Upon being pressed here, he again retreated to Allatoona, where 
the country is again mountainous. He doubtless had expected 
to flght in earnest here. 

Another flanking movement by Sherman far to the right, on 
Dallas, brought an engagement at N'ew Hope Church, ]\Iay 25 
to 28, four miles north of Dallas. The Confederates lost 3,000 
and Sherman 2,400. 



Sherman's march on Atlanta. 135 

Johnston meantime had been gathering his detachments and 
receiving reinforcements, until his army numbered 62,000. He 
fell back to Marietta, with Bush Mountain on his right, Kene- 
saw Mountain on his center, and Pine Mountain on his left. 
There were skirmishes between the opposing forces for a series 
of days. On the 27th of June, Sherman ordered an assault. 
Sherman says : '' I ordered an assault with the full cooperation 
of my great lieutenants, Thomas, McPherson, and Schofield, — 
as good and true men as ever lived and died for their country's 
cause; but we failed, losing 3,000 men to the Confederate loss 
of 630. Still, the result was, that within three days Johnston 
abandoned the strongest possible position, and was in full re- 
treat for the Chattahoochie river. We were on his heels, skir- 
mished with his rear at Smyrna Church on the 4th day of July, 
and saw him fairly across the Chattahoochie on the 10th, covered 
and protected by the best line of field intrenchments I have ever 
seen, prepared long in advance. . . , We had advanced into 
the enemy's country 120 miles, with a single track of railroad, 
w^hich had to bring clothing, food, ammunition, everything 
requisite for 100,000 men and 25,000 animals. The city of 
Atlanta, the gate city, opening the interior of the important 
' State of Georgia, was in sight ; its protecting army was shaken 
but not defeated, and onward we had to go." 

Gen. Johnston, too weak in force to take the offensive, con- 
ducted a masterly retreat. Gen. Sherman, too shrewd to 
slaughter his men in useless assault upon strongly fortified 
works, flanked the enemy from his stronghold, as he watched 



13G THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMTAIGNS. 



opportunities to inflict punislinient ui^on him. Thus the muve- 
nicnt I'l-oni Chattanooga to Atlanta consisted of a series of re- 
treats on the part of Johnston and flank niovenients on the part 
of Sherman, <lurini>- which a number of engagements took place. 
Dalton, Ivesaca, Adairsville, Cassville, Kingston, Allatoona 
Pass, Kenesaw Mountain, Chattahoochie river, and Atlanta, 
mark the successive retreats of Johnston. 

The Defeat of Hood and the Fall of Atlanta, Sep- 
TEALBER 2, 1864. — The " retreating policy " of Johnston was 
not approved by the authorities at Kichmond, and Gen. John 
K. Hood, an officer of great reputation for energy and impet- 
uous bravery, was appointed to succeed him. With this change 
of commanders came a change of policy, by which a most 
valuable service was rendered to the Federal cause. Johnston 
had not been able to prevent Sherman's persistent, determined, 
and generally skillful advance. He had lost about 15,000 men 
in two months by a defensive campaign. He had settled -to 
the defense of Athinta with the Chattalioochie river to his left 
and Peach creek on his right, Avlien Gen. Hood assumed com- 
mand. About 51,000 men were turned ovvr to the new com- 
mander, who proceeded to bring them into deadly action at 
once. 

Sliemian, after crossing the Chattahooeliie river and Peaeh 
creek, was velieniently assailed, duly lU, by Hood's army, which 
met a disastrous re})ulse. 'J'he Union loss was about 1,500, 
while Sherman estimated the loss of his opponent in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners, at about 5,000. 



137 

Gen. Hood fell back to within a couple of miles of Atlanta, 
behind the strong line of defense consisting of redoubts, abatis, 
and rifle-pits, constructed in 1863. Leaving a small force 
behind his works, he made a long night march with his main 
body, expecting to fall upon the Union left and to crush the 
successive divisions before they could support one another. 

Gen. Hardee struck an unexpected blow at Smith's division 
of Blair's corps. Gen. McPherson, while riding in fancied 
security through the woods to the rear of that division, was shot 
dead as he gave an order to fill up a gap into which the Confed- 
erates, were pouring like a torrent. Mc'Murry's battery was 
surprised and taken. But after Sherman massed his forces, 
and Avhen the first shock of surprise had disappeared, the 
triumphant beginning of the enemy's assault was turned into 
defeat, and then a rout to his defenses. 

The Union loss in this stubborn contest of July 22 d was 
3,722, of whom 1,000 were prisoners. The Confederate loss 
during the. day as estimated by Gen. Sherman was 8,000, of 
whom 1,000 were prisoners. 

Gen. Stoneman was dispatched with 5,000 cavalry on a raid 
against the railroads in Hood's rear. He was to be joined at 
Lovejoy by a division under Gen. A. O. McCook, numbering 
4,000. Stoneman did not arrive at the appointed time; and 
McCook's force, being confronted by militia brought from Mis- 
sissippi to aid in the defense of Atlanta, and being pursued by 
the Confederate cavalry, was compelled to flee for safety, after 
having destroyed a considerable quantity of Hood's supplies. 



138 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Gon. Howard snccecded to the coirimaiid of tlio Army of the 
Temicssee on the death of Gen. McPhersoii. Gen. Hooker, 
considering himself disparaged, was relieved from the command 
of his corps at his own request, and Gen. Slociim succeeded him. 

The Army of the Tennessee was now shifted from Sherman'- 
extreme left to his extreme right, in a movement to flank 1I<mkI 
out of Atlanta by cutting the railroad in the rear. Gen. Hood 
detected the movement, but not until the Federal army had 
sufficient time to hastily construct a breastwork of rails and logs 
before being assailed by the enemy. Hood, expecting to catch 
tlie army in disorder, or at least unprepared, hurriedly brought 
liis forces from the west of Atlanta, and impetuously cliargc*! 
upon the Union forces, July 28th. But the Confederates were 
swept down by a murderous fire as they approached, and were 
driven back. Again and again they were re-formed and led to 
tlie assault, only to have their brave ranks decinuited by their 
vigihtnf «t]ip()nents. Finally the foolish assault was aliandonod. 
Sliorman estimated the Confederate loss at 5,000, while his own 
was only 600; but Hood admits a loss of 1,500 only. 

Gen. Hood divided his forces to guard his communications 
from Kilpatrick's cavalry raid. He sent Hardee Avith half of 
his men to Jonesborough, while he remained at Atlanta. 
Several engagements occurred between Hardee's and Howard's 
divisions, to tlie discomfiture of the former. 

On the night before Sept. 1st, ominous sounds indicated to 
Sherman, who was about twenty miles away, that something 
momentous was happening at Atlanta. Supposition pointed to 



Sherman's march on Atlanta. 139 

the truth, that Hood, completely outgeneraled, and at his wit's 
end, was blowing up the magazines, burning stores, and prepar- 
ing to leave Atlanta with the little he could carry with him, 
deprived as he was of the use of the railroads. 

Gen. Sherman occupied Atlanta Sept. 2d. Establishing 
headquarters in the city, he ordered the removal of the remain- 
ing inhabitants to the E'orth or to the South as each preferred. 
This order was considered an act of great inhumanity and 
cruelty, by the Confederate officers ; but in truth it was a deed 
of kindness, prompted by nobility of spirit toward a helpless 
people in a region which was stripped of food and every avenue 
for furnishing an immediate supply^ Every one who could 
shoulder a musket or drive a team had been conscripted into the 
Confederate army. All the machine-shops, factories and foun- 
dries which had done good service to the Confederates had been 
destroyed by Hood before leaving Atlanta. "No food had been 
.left by his army in Atlanta, and none could be sent from the 
adjacent country, whoever might perish. It would have cost 
great sums for the Government to feed these helpless people, 
even if it had been at all practicable. To let them stay and 
starve would have been cruel and barbarous. The order for the 
removal was therefore wise, provident, and humane. The re- 
moval was effected quietly, at National cost. Those preferring 
to go South, numbering 2,035 persons, were taken in wagon to 
a camp called ^' Rough and Ready." Those who preferred to go 
North ^vere taken by rail to Chattanooga. 

Gen. Grant, speaking of Sherman's memorable march to At- 



140 THE CIVIL WAR 1{Y CAMl'AKiNS. 

laiitM, yavs: ^' The campaign had lasted about four montlis, and 
was one of the most memorable in history. There was but 
little if anything in the whole campaign, now that it is over, to 
criticize at all, and nothing to criticize severely. It was credita- 
ble alike to the general who commanded and the army which 
had executed it. Sherman Inid on this campaign some bright, 
wide-awake division and brigade commanders whose alertness 
added a host to the efficiency of his command. The news of 
Sherman's success reached the E'orth instantaneously, and set 
the country all aglow. It Avas followed later by Sheridan's 
campaign in the Shenandoah Valley; and these two campaigns 
probably had more effect in settling the Presidential election of 
the following November, than all the speeches, all the bonfires, 
and all the parading with banners and bands of music in tlie 
-North.'' 

In the campaign from May Tth to September 1st, the Con- 
federate loss in killed and wounded, as recorded in the AVar 
Records, was 22,400; besides these, Sherman took 13,000 i)ris- 
oners. The Union losses during the same period of time were 
nearly 32,000 men. 

Hood's Maucii jSTortji, SeI'tember, 1864. — The task of 
supplying any large army with food is moinentous. But the 
task of supplying Sherman's army on this campaign was ex- 
tremely difficult, passing as he did into tlie lieart of tlie liostile 
territory, through monntainous districts, over l)ad wagon-roads, 
with but a single railroad connecting him with the Xortli. 



141 

JSTasliville, liis principal depot of supplies, was 130 miles away 
from Chattanooga, which is more than 100 miles from Atlanta. 
The supplies were brought from Louisville over a single rail- 
road by way of ^Nashville and Chattanooga, to Atlanta. All 
the bridges, trestles and culverts along the railroad had to be 
guarded from the depredations of the enemy's cavalry and from 
i the vandalism of a hostile population. 

' Gen. Hood, after beifig driven from Atlanta, decided to take 
; advantage of Sherman's long line of supplies. Being reinforced, 
.' he moved around Atlanta, and pushing rapidly north, he began 
j tearing uj) the railroad, breaking down the telegraph, and 
I threatening Sherman's line of communication. He expected 
to be able to draw the Union army from Georgia. A division 
j of Hood's army, under Gen. French, marching up through 
I Dallas, attacked Allatoona, Oct. 5, 1864, which was defended 
I by about 2,000 men under Gen. John M. Corse. Gen. French 
! had in his command about 5,000 men, who furiously assaulted 
I the works, but were repeatedly driven back. Gen. Corse and 
I men valiantly held out until aid came. This brave commander 
I himself was wounded in the face, and 707 of his men — being 
more than one-third of his whole number — were killed or 
wounded. 

While the battle was raging, Gen. Sherman stood on Kenesaw 
Mountain, eighteen miles south, and, by means of signal flags, 
conveyed from peak to peak, over the heads of the enemy, the 
glad tidings of approaching aid in the famous message which 



142 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

has boon porpotuatod in the well-known song, " TTold tlio Fort," 
by P. P. Bliss: 

" IIo ! my comrades, see the signal 
Waving in the sky ! 
Reinforcements now approaching — 
Victory is nigh.'' 

C/iorws— "Hold the fort," etc. 

Gen. Sherman pursuod the enemy throngh Rome, Resaca, 
Villanow, Lafayette, to Gaylesville, Alabama. After the lapse 
of a week he became convinced that hi^adversary was endeav- 
oring to draw him out of Georgia, and refused to follow him 
who would not fight, and whom he could not overtake, — unin- 
cumbered as ITood was, without any heavy wagon-trains, llo 
directed Stanley with the Fourth corps and Schofiold with the 
Twenty-third to march to Chattanooga and thence report at 
Nashville, to Thomas, who had been dispatched thither Sept. 
28, to meet the retreating foe. 

After Sherman had become assured that Thomas was strong 
enough to meet Hood's army, which now consisted of 35,000 
infantry and 10,000 cavalry, he turned his army southward. 
Gathering up his garrison, and sending some to Chattanooga 
to aid in the defense of Tennessee, destroying foundries and 
mills at Rome, cutting loose from all communications, and 
drawing around liim all his remaining forces, Sherman made 
preparations fur tlio groat '' iNfarch to the Sea," whioli booamo a 
potent factor in liastoning the downfall of the Rebellion. 

TTood's Tennessee Camfakjn, November to December, i 
1SG4. — (iOli. Goo. II. Tli(»iiias Imd Im-oh dctaclicd IVnin the main 




if/ M&refy tofM Se^s. 






Sherman's march on Atlanta. 143 

army in Georgia, and given command of the Army of the Ten- 
nessee with the widest discretionary powers in the conduct of 
the campaign against Hood. Gen. Grant, in his camp before 
Eichmond, could hardly believe that Hood was moving on 'Nash- 
ville, " which/' as he said, " seemed to be leading to his certain 
doom.'' 

Gen. Hood was reinforced by part of Gen. Dick Taylor's 
army from the South. His entire force thus augmented was 
near 55,000 men. 

Gen. Thomas had as many men now under his command as 
Hood had, and probably more, counting all from Knoxville to 
Memphis, stationed at various posts and depots. They were 
chiefly fragments of regiments and brigades guarding supplies, 
bridges, etc. To abandon these points might involve the loss of 
all that had been gained in the campaign in Tennessee. Not 
to abandon them greatly reduced the available force to actively 
oppose Hood. Excluding those guarding posts and depots, he 
had no more than 30,000 men. 

Gen. Forrest, leading a large body of cavalry, preluded 
Hood's advance. Crossing the Tennessee near Waterloo, he 
suddenly fell upon and took Athens, Alabama, (September 23,) 
invested by 600 colored troops. Skirmishing heavily at Pulaski 
and Tullahoma, he passed through Columbia, Mt. Pleasant, and 
Lawrenceburg. He crossed the Tennessee safely, after having 
done much damage and captured about one thousand prisoners. 
He moved to Corinth and thence to Johnsonville, where some 



144: THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

.^harp figliting- ensued, and then set off to join IIofMl in his march 
ui)on NashviHe. 

Gen. Hood did not attemj^t to cross the Tennessee wliilc 
Sherman remained at Kingston. After making a feint on 
Decatur, Hood passed on to Tnsennd)ia and then to Florence. 
After hearing that Sherman had cut loose from his base at 
AtLanta and started southward on his " Great March,'' Hood 
made preparations for a movement into Tennessee to retrieve 
his shattered record bj a brilliant stroke against Thomas. On 
^N'ov. 17, the division of Hood's army stationed on the south 
l)ank of the Tennessee, at Florence, effected a crossing, and set 
out with the rest on their march into Tennessee. Passing 
through Waynesboro, Lawrenceburg, Columbia, and Spring 
Hill, his army moved toward Xashville. 

Gen. Thomas had been apprised of the departure of Gen. 
Sherman from Atlanta, and, relying upon his own resources, 
he began a campaign against the approaching foe, which re- 
sulted in the destruction of PTood's army. . 

Gen. Thomas, keeping a firm front, gradually fell back toward 
Nashville, gathered strength as he retreated. On the SOtli of 
!N'ovember Gen. Schofield halted a few miles south of Franklin 
and threw up a slight breastwork, intending to stop while liis 
wagon-trains, which blocked the road for many mile^, should be 
gotten across the Harpeth river. 

Franklin is situated eighteen miles south of Nasliville, in a 
bend of the river, which forms a rude square when united with 
the line of the Union defenses. Gen. Schofield's command 



Sherman's march on Atlanta. 145 

numbered about 20,000 men, a part of whom had already 
crossed the stream to guard the trains and the flanks of the 
Union position. The number that confronted the Confederate 
advance was not much above 10,000. The enemy's charge Avas 
so impetuous and heavy that, scarcely checked by the outworks, 
they broke through the Union center, took eight guns, and 
planted their flag in triumph on the Union breastworks. But a 
valiant and brilliant charge by Opdycke's brigade drove the 
enemy back, recovered all that had been lost, and took a number 
of prisoners. All efforts to retake the lost breastworks by the 
enemy proved vain, and assault after assault was repulsed with 
great loss to the assailants. The conflict continued until about 
ten o'clock at night. A little after midnight, after the trains 
were well on their way to Xashville, the Union men quietly 
drew out of their defenses, and by noon next day the sleepless 
heroes w^ere safe within the defenses at E'ashville.. 

In the report of the battle Gen. Thomas gives 189 killed, 
1,033 wounded, and 1,104 missing, — nearly all of the latter 
prisoners. He reported the enemy's loss at 1,750 killed, 3,800 
wounded, and 702 prisoners; total, 6,252. Gen. Hood admits 
a loss of only 4,500. 

Assault, on N'asiiville, Dec. 15, 1864. — Hitherto, Gen. 
Thomas had encountered considerable odds ; but when on Dec. 2 
Hood settled down before l^ashville, the case became reversed. 
With his losses at Franklin, and casualties and hardships of an 
offensive and unseasonable campaign, his numbers were reduced 
to about forty thousand. 

— 10 



146 THE CIVIL WAR BV CAMTAIGNS. 

Gen. Thomas had received Gen. A. J. Smith's command from 
Miss(mri, 5,000 of Sherman's men from Chattanooga, under 
Gen. J. B. Steechnan, and the garrison at Nashville and other 
reinforcements, until liis army nmnhered 55,000. His infan- 
try clearly ontnnnd)ered that of Hood's, hut his cavalry was 
inferior to that confronting him. He ])aused to monnt a 
few thousand more men before challenging Ilood to a decided 
conflict. 

Gen. Grant, now General-in-chief of all the Federal forces, 
perplexed at the threatening dangers of the strong (\)nfe(lerate 
army in the heart of Tennessee, left his camp on the James to 
inspect affairs in the West. lie became convinced that his 
commander in Tennessee, like Sheridan in the Shenandoah 
Valley, needed no snpervision. He retnrned to his own imme- 
diate command for the prosecntion of his momentous campaign 
against Lee and Richmond. 

Gen. Hood established his lines south of ISTashville, a part of 
which were within six hnndred yards of the Union center. 
A week of cold weather ensued, wherein both armies became 
inactive. Hood's men, poorly clad and sheltered, suffered more 
than the Union men. When at length the teniperatnre soft- 
cnc*!, (Jen. Thomas issued orders, Dec. 14th, for a g(MH'i-al ad- 
Nance n])on the Confederate lines the next day. The morning 
broke ansplcioiisly ; a dense fog concealed the movements of the 
Tnlon troops. The assault was made with great vigor and deter- 
mination. The close of the hi'sl day t'onnd 1<» of the enemy's 
gnns, l,-?00 })rIsoners ami 40 wagons in p(»ssessi(»n of the I'nlon 



147 

troops, while its losses had been light, ^ever had men fought 
with greater alacrity and more steadiness. The next day the 
Confederates were completely routed, and Hood's invasion 
ended. He began a disorderly flight south, his army utterly 
demoralized. 

Hi the two-days battle Thomas had taken 4,462 prisoners, 
including 287 officers, many small arms, and 53 guns. 

The next day the cavalry under Wilson pursued the retreating 
foe vigorously. They made a stand at Franklin, attempting to 
defend the crossing at the Harpeth river, but they were forced 
to decamp, leaving behind 1,800 of their wounded in the 
hospital, and 200 of ours formerly taken, besides 400 prisoners. 
Another stand was made by the enemy's rear guard four miles 
south of Franklin, but it was soon routed and dispersed by 
Wilson's cavalry. Rain fell almost incessantly, until the brooks 
became raging rivers. Hood destroyed the bridges, after cross- 
ing them, making pursuit very difficult. After several partial 
engagements, he succeeded in making his escape with the rem- 
nant of his army. The pursuit was continued as far as Lex- 
ington, Ala. When learning that Hood had crossed the Tennes- 
see at Bainbridge, Thomas ordered a halt. 

Gen. Forrest, who had been sent on a cavalry raid, rejoined 
Hood at Columbia. 

Brig. Gen. Lyon, who had been sent by Hood while at 'Nash- 
ville, Avith 800 cavalry to tear up the Louisville railroad, had 
his entire command destroyed or taken prisoners. After surren- 



148 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

doriiiii-, lie escaped in the darkness Lj seizing a pistol and 
sli(X>tini>' a sentinel. 

Hood's army liad almost ceased to exist. What remained of 
it was stationed at Tnpelo^ ^fiss., wlien llood was ''relieved of 
its command at liis own reqnest/' Jan. 23, 18(15. 

In this campaign, from Sept. 7, 1804, to Jan. 20, 18G5, Gen. 
Tliomas had lost in killed, wonnded and missing about 10,000 
men, which was less than one-half the loss of the enemy. He 
had taken as prisoners nearly 1,000 officers, from Major General 
down to the lowest rank, and 10,895 non-commissioned officers 
and privates. ITe had administered the oath of submission and 
amnesty to 2,207 deserters, and exchanged 1,382 men, and had 
taken a large number of small arms and large guns. 



CHAPTER XI. 

SimilMAN'S GREAT MARCH TO THE SEA. 

Siierma"n's Great March to the Sea, 1864. — Gen. Sliei- 
man's army, which set out for the " Great March " through 
the heart of the Confederacy, numbered about 60,000 infantry 
and 5,500 cavalry. After concentrating these around Rome 
and Kensington, Ga., and destroying everything which might 
be used to his injury by the enemy, he sent his parting messages, 
and set off, E'ov. 11th, on his memorable march to the sea. His 
command moved forward in two grand wings, the right led by 
Gen. O. O. Howard, comprising the Fifteenth Corps under Gen. 
P. J. Osterhaus and the Seventeenth under Gen. Prank P. 
Blair; the left by Gen. Henry W. Slocum, comprising the 
Fourteenth Corps under Gen. Jeff C. Davis and the Twentieth 
under Gen. A. S. Williams. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick led the 
cavalry, which careered in front and on either flank of the 
infantry, so as to screen, as far as possible, the movements of 
the army from the detection of the enemy. Moving rapidly to 
Atlanta, Howard pased through McHonough, Monticello, and 
Gordon; while Slocum advanced by Covington, Madison and 
Eaton to Milledgeville. They destroyed railroads and facto- 
ries as they advanced, meeting thus far with very little oppo- 
sition. Each subordinate commander was instructed to live on 
the country so far as possible, and save the twenty days' bread 

(149) 



150 TUK CIVIL WAR T5V CAMPAiaNS. 

and forty clays' beef, coliVc and sugar, and three days' forage, 
contained in tlic wagons. The cavalry made a dash on ^laeon, 
ilriving oil" the Confederate cavalry, hnt was nnahle to carry 
die works behind which the enemy's infantry was posted. 

At ]\rillen, on the Central Kailroad, half-way from Sander- 
Bonville to Savannah, ^vas a great prison cam}). ^lany Tnion 
men tliat had been captured were confined here, and subjected 
to uns])eakable privations and hardships. Sherman intended 
to lil)erate them. To this end he sent Kilpatrick with m«tst «d' 
his cavalry far to his left, so as to convey an impression that 
the army was making for Augusta rather than for the coast. 
But this failed of the desired end. Milieu was reached on the 
8d of December, but the prisoners had previously been removed. 

Destkuction of Railroads. — The railroads were destroyed 
right and left as the army moved south. Bridges were burned 
and cidverts destroyed, Avliile the track was torn up for long 
distances, and the rails twisted. To do this rapidly, the soldiers 
would lV»rm a line along the road, and, with crowl)ar and pol(\^ 
placed under the rails, pry up long distances at a time. Others 
would pile up the ties, place the rails across them lengthwise, 
and then set fire to the ties. In this manner the rails were 
heated in the middle more than at the ends, and were easily 
twisted so as not to be of any further use. Some of the rails 
were carrie<l to the nearest trees, and bent around them as l)ands 
ornamenting the trees of Georgia. Some crews tore up the 
rails, others piled up the ties; some carried the rails, while 



151 

others twisted them: so the work progressed methodically and 
rapidly with the movements of the army. 

Supplying the Army. — The organization for supplying the 
army was very complete. Each brigade furnished a company 
to gather sui)plies of forage and provisions for the command 
to which it belonged. Pillaging was strictly forbidden, but 
everything in the shape of food for man or forage for beast was 
taken. These foraging parties — or '' bummers/' as they were 
popidarly called — went out for miles on either side of the army. 
Starting in advance of the organization to which they belonged, 
and gathering great quantities of provisions, they returned to 
the line of march, where each stood guard over his pile of food 
till his own brigade came along, when it w^as turned over to the 
brigade commissary and quartermaster. When they started out 
in the morning they were generally on foot, but scarcely any of 
them returned in the evening without being mounted on horses, 
which were turned in for the use of the army. The progress of 
the column was not permitted to be interrupted by the reception 
of the forage. Everything had to be loaded upon the wagons as 
they moved. 

The South prior to the Rebellion kept bloodhounds to pursue 
runaway slaves and escaped convicts, and now they w^re used 
to capture escaped prisoners. Orders were issued to kill all of 
these animals as they were found. The imagination of the 
troops converted every species of dog into the bloodhound, so 
that even the poodle had no lease on life in the presence of the 
advancing blue-coats. 



152 THE CIVIL WAR IJY CAMPAIGNS. 

Alakm South and Noktit. — Slici-Hiiiii's march tliruui2,li 
Georgia caused great alarm in the Soiitli, and to some extent in 
the Ts^orth. If words and bhister could avail ai^aiust heavy" 
hattalions, Sherman's aruiy Avouhl have hecu aiiniliilat('(l in a 
day. As he moved southward, consternation became more pro- 
nounced and the people more frantic. Cadets were taken from 
the military colleges and added to the ranks of the militia. 
Convicts were released from jails under a promise to serve in 
the Confederate army. The Legislature of Georgia passed an 
act levying the population en masse into military service, and 
then lied in great confusion as Sherman's hosts neared the State 
capital. All efforts to check the advancing columns were futile. 
Hardee, Wayne and Wheeler collected some forces that hovered 
around the Union flanks, ihe most serious of wdiich was the 
cavalry under Wheeler, whose presence and skirmishes caused 
some annoyance, but no detention. The foragers were compelled 
to defend themselves frequently from the scattered forces of the 
enemy, but the casualties were small. 

Southern newspapers, commenting on Sherman's troops, de- 
picted them as in the most deplorable condition, saying that they 
were greatly demoralized, and aimlessly wandering around, 
with tlu! hope of reaching the seacoast to come under the protec- 
tion of the Union gunboats. Some of these papers reached the 
North. This news caused Lincoln some alarm, as he had not 
heard from Sherman since he had cut loose from Atlanta. It 
produced much mental distress among the friends and relatives 
of those who were serving under Sherman's banners. The con- 



153 

fidence which Grant and Lincoln had in Sherman's ability 
served to bridge over the period of suspense consequent upon the 
absence of any definite and authentic news from or about him. 

Captuee of Savannah, Decembee, 1864. — The receipt of 
the following telegram by President Lincoln on the 22d of De- 
cember dispelled all doubt as to Sherman's safety, and caused 
much joy in the E'orth : " I beg to present to you as a Christmas 
gift the city of Savannah, with 150 guns and plenty of ammu- 
nition; also about 2,500 bales of cotton." 

'No events of special note occurred on the march from Milieu 
to Savannah. This place was found to be intrenched and garri- 
soned by 10,000 troops under Gen. Hardee. Sherman proceeded 
at once to invest the place, which was commenced on the 10th of 
December. Starting w4th some troops to open communication 
with the Union fleet in the lower harbor, he encountered Fort 
McAllister, which was soon taken by an assault made by Gen. 
Hazen's division. Communications were then opened with the 
fleet. The hearts of the men were made glad by the message 
that a vessel bearing the accumulated mail for the army was 
there with supplies, which the troops were supposed to need. 
Sherman returned on the 1 5th, to complete arrangements for an 
effective siege of that place. ^Vhen the investment was supposed 
to be complete, he summoned Hardee to surrender, who replied 
that he was not completely invested, and refused to surrender. 
During the dark and windy night of December 20th, Hardee 
made his escape by crossing the Savannah river on a pontoon 
bridge, and marching up the causeway road toward Charleston. 



154 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

The next niurniiii;' found the ^iati(Hlal uniiy iu })()SS(.'ysion of the 
city before the bouibardnieiit of it had fairly commenced. 

]>nt the Confederate army was beyond the reach oi immediate 
pursuit; so Gen. Sherman remained in tlie city a month, resting 
and refitting his army, preparatory to resuming his march 
through the Carolinas. The loss in the inarch of 255 mik's, 
which was accomplished in six weeks of time, was 63 killed, 
245 wounded, and 149 missing. It resulted in the conquest of 
Georgia, the capture of 1,328 prisoners and 167 guns, the 
seizing of a vast amount of provisions, cattle, horses, etc., and 
the destruction of millions of dollars' worth of shops, foundries 
and railroads which had helped support the Rebellion. 

The promise of freedom to the slaves, which &liould follow the 
triumph of the Union cause, brought a swarm of negroes in 
search of information and to satisfy their curiosity, to the rear 
of Sherman's army, notwithstanding every effort had been used 
by Sherman and his officers to induce them to remain quietly 
at home. About 10,000 accompanied the army on its inarch to 
the sea. Many of these were assigned to the lands on the Sea 
Islands, which were abandoned by the Confederates wdien Gen. 
Thos. W. Sherman and Commodore S. F. Dupont directed an 
expedition against them in the fall of 1861. From the settle- 
ment upon these islands developed, after the close of the war, one 
of the chief sources of cmj^loyment for the Freedman's Aid 
Bureau. 

Sukkman's ^rARCii TJiKorcjir xiii: Carolinas, Si'rixc; of 
1865. — Gen. Grant had planned to take Sherman and his army 



Sherman's great march to the sea. 155 

from Savannah to the James river by water, and so informed 
Sherman. On receipt of this letter, he at once began prepara- 
tions for the removal of the army on transports to aid Grant 
around Ilichmond. Seeing that it would take a long time to 
collect the transports for his 60,000 men and their equipage, he 
suggested marching north through the Carolinas. Grant ac- 
cepted and approved the plan, as it contained, if only partially 
successful, many features of embarrassment to the foe. By 
marching north, living upon the country as he went, he would 
be able to devastate the sources of supplies for the Confederate 
army. The trans-Mississippi region had long ago been cut off. 
Sheridan had desolated the Shenandoah Valley. The blockade 
of -the seajDorts had become more stringent. Georgia had lost 
her ability to render much assistance or furnish many supplies. 
Outside of Virginia, which had already been heavily drained 
of its resources, ^N^orth and South Carolina alone remained as 
sources for supplies in any quantity. To destroy their ability 
to furnish food and munitions to Lee at Richmond, would 
render his position untenable. 

Obstacles to be Encountered. — The movement of the 
army northward was much more difficult and dangerous than the 
" March to the Sea." In the march southward the army moved 
parallel with the rivers, and on highways between them, so it was 
difficult for any but a large force to obstruct or retard his move- 
ment south. But the march north would necessitate the crossing 
of many streams, some of them rivers. A single man could burn 
a bridge and prevent the army from crossing for a couple of 



156 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

hours. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had been placed in command 
of Hood's decimated forces, to which were added all available 
i»arrisons and levies. He appeared in the field prepared to dis- 
pute the northward movement of his old antagonist. Lee was 
seeking to sli]) away from Grant at Richmond, and, with the aid 
of Johnston, fall npon Sherman and crush him. He was to 
march through a country that naturally furnished fewer pro- 
visions than the region through which he had previously passed, 
and those were more completely exhausted, being near the seat 
of greatest action. And the territory had become of such great 
imi)ortance to the very existence of the Confederate army, that 
the most desperate efforts to save it were to be expected. With 
a caution that admirably balanced his boldness, Sherman ar- 
ranged to have the fleet cooperate with him along the coast, 
keeping watch of his movements, and establishing places where 
supplies could be reached, and refuge taken in case of necessity. 

Capture of Columbia, February 17, 1865. — On the 18th 
of January, turning over the city of Savannah to Gen. John G. 
Foster, who was in command of the coast in that vicinity, Gen. 
Sherman issued his orders on the 19th for the movement of his 
whole army. The Seventeenth Corps under Gen. F. P. Blair 
had previously been taken by water to Pocotaligo, which was 
about forty mihs north of Savannah, for the purpose of threat- 
ening Charleston. 

The left wing moved up along the Savannah river, concen- 
trating at Robertsville, twenty miles west of Pocotaligo. Sher- 
man was thus pursuing his favorite strategy of dividing the 



157 

enemy's forces, and drawing attention from liis own designs, 
so as to prevent a concentration of forces to resist him in the 
inhospitable region throngh which his course lay. He had 
expected to leave Savannah with his whole army on the 15th of 
January, at the time the Seventeenth Corps was transported to 
Pocotaligo, but incessant rains and floods caused a delay of a 
fortnight. By the first of February all preparations were com- 
pleted for the final march, the left wing threatening Augusta 
and the right demonstrating against Charleston. He had sent 
out rumors representing both places as his objective points. 
Augusta, containing many Confederate stores, was in painful 
apprehension of a visit from Sherman. Charleston, the hotbed 
of secession, in a State that had done so much to prepare the 
public mind of the South to rebel and secede, was fearful of 
direful results. Indeed, a feeling was entertained throughout 
the [N'orth that a heavy hand should be laid upon this city, and 
nothing but the magnificent results that followed Sherman's 
march deterred the radical portion of the people of the ^Rorth 
from condemning the movements because Charleston had been 
left out. Sherman, however, chose to move on a route directly 
between the tAvo places which had been threatened w4th some 
ostentation, and struck directly for Columbia, which he entered 
February I7th. There was almost constant skirmishing on the 
road between the cavalry of the opposing forces. Some time 
was lost in rebuilding bridges which had been destroyed to 
impede the progress of the army. The march was without mucli 
incident until he entered Columbia, which was found to be on 



158 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

tiro. The main forces of roiifcdcratos had boon concontrated 
at .\.iii>usta and ( 'harlcstfdi In aii(icipation of an assjudt, so that 
l)iit a small force under (Jen. Wade Hampton was left to defend 
r\thind)ia; l)nt he fled on the approach of Sherman's ai'iny. 
Before leaving the city, Gen. Hampton had ordered all the 
cotton to be moved into the streets and bnrned. Bales Avere 
piled up everywhere and the ropes and bagging cut. A storm 
was in progress, which blew tufts of cotton against houses, into 
trees, and around the town, which soon looked as though a snow- 
storm was in progress. Sherman had given orders for the de- 
struction of arsenals and machine-shops; but before this was 
done, the burning cotton, blown in every direction, had set fire to 
the city. As soon as Sherman entered the city, every effort was 
made to extinguish the flames, which continued from dusk until 
3 A. M., and rendered homeless between 4,000 and 5,000 people. 
It is reasonably certain that Hampton burned his own city, — 
not with malicious intent, but through the folly of filling the 
streets with burning cotton. 

Sherman destroyed the arsenal purposely, and tons of pow- 
der, shot and shell were taken to the river and suidv in deep 
water. He also destroyed the factory which made the C(Uifed- 
erate paper money, large quantities of which were carried away 
by the Union soldiers. 

The Fall of Charleston, February 18, 1865.— The fall 
of C(dund)ia involved the fall of Charleston, including Fort 
Sumter and its defenses. Hardee, realizing his isolated condi- 
tion after the capture of Colund)ia, evacuated the city so famous 



Sherman's great march to the sea. 159 

iu war, on the IStli of February. He was resolved, however, to 
leave as little as possible for the use of his adversary. Before 
the retirement of Hardee's troops, every building, warehouse 
and shed stored with cotton was fired by a guard detailed for 
that purpose. The horrors of the conflagration were heightened 
by a terrible catastrophe. A spark accidentally ignited the 
powder in the depot of the E^orthwestern Railroad, where a 
large quantity was stored. A tremendous explosion occurred, 
shaking the city from one end to the other. The building was 
in a second a whirling mass of ruins, enveloped in a tremendous 
volume of flame and smoke. About two hundred lives were 
lost in that fiery furnace. From the depot the fire spread 
rapidly to the adjoining buildings, and consumed a considerable 
portion of the town before the flames could be subdued. The 
destruction of all public property had been as complete as Har- 
dee could make it. 

Hardee with 12,000 men made haste to cross the Santee and 
Peedee rivers before Sherman could turn upon and crush him. 
But Sherman, having other plans, did not attempt to intercept 
him. Gen. Foster took possession of the city with the Xational 
troops. 

While at Columbia, Sherman learned of Johnston's restora- 
tion to the command of the Confederate army in the Carolinas. 
Leaving this place on the 20th, Sherman's army moved toward 
Fayetteville, the right wing going through Cheraw and the left 
through Lancaster and Sneedsboro. He reached Fayetteville 
on the 11th of March without much opposition or any special 



ICO THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

incident. On the 15tli lie left Fajetteville for Goklsboro, at 
which place Gen. Schofield was preparing to reinforce him; 
while Gen. Terry, who had recently taken Fort Fisher, also 
came to his aid. 

Sherman was compelled to move with 2:reater cantion than he 
had hitherto done, as a formidalde army was being concentrated 
to oppose him. Hardee from Charleston, Beanregard from near 
Columbia, Chatham from Tennessee, Bragg with forces drawn 
from the eastern defenses of Xorth C^irolina, and Wheeler's 
and iramptoirs cavalry, — all united under the able and wary 
command of Gen. J. E. Johnston, — made up a body of not less 
than 40,000 men. 

Fort Fisher Taken, January 15, 1865. — Fort Fisher, at 
the mouth of Cape Fear river, guarded the entrance to Wilming- 
ton. This port was of great importance to the Confederates, 
as it formed the principal inlet, at this time, for blockade- 
runners, who brought such supplies and munitions from abroad 
as could not be produced by the South. Foreign governments, 
particularly England, were threatening to cease to recognize the 
blockade unless the United States should make it more effective. 

The cai:)ture of this fort does not form part of Sherman's 
military campaign in his " Great March," but one of the numer- 
ous auxiliary movements directed by Gen. Grant in su])port 
of the two leading campaigns, — '' The Siege of Kichmond and 
Petersburg " and " Sherman's March." In addition to reasons 
already named, the ])ossession of Fort Fisher would com2")cl the 

jidonment of Wilmington, open a new line of base of sup[>lie3 



auai 



Sherman's great march to the sea. 161 

for Sherman, and afford a place of retreat to the protection of 
the Union fleet in case a sufficient Confederate force could be 
collected to destroy Sherman's supremacy in his march through 
the Carolinas. 

The army and navy cooperated in the attempt to reduce Fort 
Fisher. The navy was in command of Commodore Porter ; the 
military (6,500) was commanded by Gen. B. F. Butler, of 
whom we last heard in 'New Orleans. He procured an old gun- 
boat, fitted it up so as to look like a blockade-runner, loaded it 
with 250 tons of gunpowder, and, running it up close to the 
fort, exploded it. Butler expected the shock to demolish the 
seaward face of the fort, but it did not deface it. The navy then 
poured a rapid and well-aimed fire upon the works. A division 
of Butler's troops under Weitzel was landed under cover of 
gunboats. They captured a small garrison, and learned that 
Gen. Hoke had arrived with 6,000 troops from Bichmond, 
Believing the capture of the fort impossible, Weitzel so reported 
to Gen. Butler, who decided to abandon all demonstrations 
against it, and accordingly withdrew his troops from the penin- 
sula, greatly to the disgust of the navy. 

The chagrin in the ISTorth was great over this failure, and 
Butler's action was so unsatisfactory to Grant that he at once 
sent the same troops back under a different commander, witli 
1,500 reinforcements to offset those which the enemy had re- 
ceived. Gen. A. H. Terry was selected to command the second 
attempt. The works were very extensive, and the enemy made 
a desperate effort to defend them. The land and naval forces 
—11 



162 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

made a combined attack. Terry's men pushed from traverse to 
traverse until the works were finally taken, Jan. 1 5th, including 
169 guns, 2,083 prisoners, with ammunition and small arms. 

Surrp:ni)kr of Wilmington, February 22, 1865. — Gen. 
Schofield was at C^lifton, on the Tennessee, preparing to go to 
Eastport, Miss., Avhen he received the order summoning him to 
the East. He was directed to take Wilmington, and tlien coop- 
erate with Gen. Sherman in his campaign against the Confed- 
erate forces being assembled under Gen. Johnston. He found 
Gen. Terry with 8,000 men about two miles above the fort, 
but too weak to advance against the Confederates, wlio were 
strongly intrenched at Fort Anderson. Schofield brought alxtut 
12,000 men, and at once commenced active operation against 
the enemy, who were defeated in several engagements. Wil- 
mington was taken on the 22d of February. The Confederate 
forces, commanded by Bragg and Hoke, withdrew to unite witli 
Johnston's army, Avhile Schofield and Terry moved to Goldsboro 
to reinforce Sherman. 

Sherman's Final Campaign, 1865. — At Avervsboro, thirty- 
five miles south of llaleigh, the left wing of Slicrniau's ai-iiiy 
suddenly came upon Hardee's fctrees, inti'enehed aei-oss lils ])atli. 
They were liowevei' driven back, and tlie march continued 
toward Goldsboro. At l>entouville, Mjireli lt>tli, Slocum was 
assailed by the entire (\mfederMle army under dolinston, who 
expected to eiMisli the left wlni; Ixd'ore the I'emnininii' foi'ces 
couhi <'onie to their aid. Slocum withstood six assaults from 



I 



Sherman's great march to the sea. 163 

Johnston's army, inflicting heavy loss upon it with his artillery, 
^ight fell without giving Johnston any ground. During the 
night reinforcements arrived, and both armies fortified them- 
selves for the morrow. Gen. Slocum awaited the arrival of 
Gen. Howard with the entire right of Sherman's army, while 
Gen. Schofield was improving this delay to get possession of 
Goldsboro in the enemy's rear, and Gen. Terry was advancin": 
to the Is^euse, at Cox's bridge, some ten miles higher up. But 
Johnston had taken the alarm, and during the night retreated 
so precipitately toward Raleigh as to leave his pickets behind, 
as well as his severely wounded. This was the last battle fought 
by the army confronting Sherman's. The Union loss was about 
1,G00 killed, wounded, and missing. The Confederate loss was 
about 2,300. 

'No further resistance being made, Sherman's army moved on 
to Goldsboro, where it rested and was re-clad; while Sherman, 
after a brief visit with Gens. Scofield and Terry, made a hasty 
trip to City Point (March 2Tth), where he met in council 
President Lincoln, Generals Grant, Meade, etc., and returned 
to Goldsboro on the 30th. 

Johnston's Surrender, April 26, 1865. — While Sherman 
was quiescent at Goldsboro, he was electrified to hear of the fall 
of Richmond and Petersburg. He immediately began a move- 
ment against Johnston, who still lay at Smithfield, but who no^v 
retreated to Raleigh, thence to Greensboro. Sherman pursued 
the Confederates to Raleigh. 

The opposing armies were in these places — one at Greens- 



164 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

boro, tlie other at Kaleigh — when the news of Lee's surrender 
reached them. The decline of the Confederate cause brouglit 
overtures of peace from Johnston, wliich led to his surrender, 
April 26th, 1865, on the same terms as had been granted to Lee. 
The surrender of all tlie Confederate armies soon followed, the 
last being the command of Gen. E. Kirby Smith, at Shreveport, 
La., on the 26th of May. Under Johnston's command, 36,817 
men were paroled, and 52,453 in Georgia and Florida, 

Anniversary of Fort Sumter. — The 14th day of April, 
1865, was the anniversary of the surrender of Fort Sumter by 
Major Anderson to Gen. Beauregard. It was celebrated by a 
large number of loyal citizens, who went down to Charleston and 
Port Royal to witness the raising, over the ruins of the historic 
fortress, of the identical flag that had been hauled down four 
years before when Beauregard first opened fire upon Fort Sum- 
ter. The flag had been thoughtfully preserved for the purpose. 
Henry Ward Beecher delivered the principal address on this oc- 
casion. The whole country was aglow witli loyal rejoicing and 
congratulations over the surrender of Lee, which occurred April 
9th, and the establishment of National authority over the site 
which fired the first gun of the llebellion. 



CHAPTEK XII. 

McCLEI^LAN'S PENINSUIiAR CAMPAIGN. 

Organization^ of the Aemy, 1861. — Immediately after the 
battle of Bull Run, the new military department of Washington 
and N^ortheastern Virginia was formed. The army became 
known as the Army of the Potomac. Gen. George B. McClellan 
was summoned by telegraph from West Virginia to take com- 
mand of it. The change was officially announced July 25, 1861. 
The army around Washington was reduced by desertions, defeat, 
and by the expiration of the time of the three-months men, to 
about 50,000 men. Gen. Winfield Scott nominally remained 
General-in-chief until November 1st, when, by his own request, 
he was placed on the retired list, and McClellan was named to 
supersede him. Gen. McClellan at once commenced the organi- 
zation of the great army authorized by Congress. Regiment 
after regiment flocked into Washington. The troops were armed 
and drilled, with a full knowledge of the perils and hardships 
and privations to be encountered. By the beginning of Decem- 
ber, when Congress assembled, the Army of the Potomac had 
reached 185,000 men. 

Different Routes Toward Richmond. — In the spring of 
1862, when the Army of the Potomac was to be put in motion 
for the capture of Richmond, Lincoln and McClellan did not 
agree as to what route should be taken. There were several 

(165) 



166 THE CIVIL WAR KY CAMPAIGNS. 

different ^va^■s l)v wliieli tlic I nioii iiriny could lie fiii-iiislictl 
witli food and su])i)li('s while moving against liieliniond. One, 
bv railroad tlirongh (iordonvillc : this was tlie longest route, and 
most difficult to guard. The su])})lies could be taken down the 
Potomac to Aquia Creek via Fredericksburg, then by rail to 
Richmond. This route possessed the advantage of placing the 
Union army in a position to defend the National capital. 
Another route was that down the Chesapeake bay, ascending 
either the York or the James river, and establishing a base on 
one or the other at some convenient point. This ])lan necessi- 
tated a division of the army in order to protect Washington 
against a sudden attack upon it. The President wished the 
army to move directly against the enemy overland. IMcClellan 
wished to move down the bay on transports. Tincoln finally 
yielded to ^IcClellan's plan, on condition that a sufficient force 
shoidd be left for the protection of Washington. 

DoW'N THE IiiVKit TO YoRKTOWN, Ai'RiL, 1862. — Tlic great 
Army of the Potomac, numbering 155,000, in command of 
Gen. McClellan, embarked at Alexandria in April, and was 
taken down the Potomac in transports to Fortress Monroe. 
The ultimate objects were, the destruction of the Confederate 
army and the capture of Ivichmond, the ca2)ital of the Confed- 
eracy. 

The Confederates had erected numerous breastworks extend- 
ing across the peninsula which separates the York and James 
rivers, defended by 20,000 men under Gen. J. P. ^lagruder. 
The main body was centered at Yorktown, a place already cele- 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 167 

brated in the annals of history by the decisive victory of Wasii- 
ington over Cornwallis. Yorktown Avas defended by a system 
of extensive fortifications. McClellan, after some preliminary 
skirmishing, began erecting a system of opposing works. Re- 
inforcements arrived to swell the number of Confederate 
troops already assembled at Yorktown to 60,000. Generals 
Johnston and Lee arrived. Every preparation was made to 
defend the place to the utmost extremity. McClellan in the 
meantime was making coextensive preparations for its assault. 
He ordered big guns to be brought from Washington, and per- 
fected his plans for a protracted siege upon the place. When 
everything was in readiness, after a delay of a month, to the 
great surprise of McClellan and the J^ation the Confederates 
abandoned Yorktown and retreated toward Richmond. 

The evacuation of Yorktown is one of the singular events of 
the war. It was evidently the original intention of the South- 
ern army to meet the Federals in battle at this fortified town. 
It is probable that the most potent factor in inducing the Con- 
federates to change their plans was that they might eiicounter 
the Federals at a safe distance from the Federal gunboats on 
the York river. The painful lesson taught them at Pittsburg 
Landing had not yet been forgotten. 

The Battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862. — The Fed- 
erals began a vigorous pursuit, without stopping in the deserted 
camp. On the afternoon of May 4th the Federal advance en- 
countered the Confederate rear guard near Williamsburg. The 
next day the engagement took place all along the lines. The 



IGS TUE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

contest contiinicd during the day. Gen. Hancock began a 
brilliant and spirited attack upon the enemy's left. Their 
resistance gradually weakened, until finally they broke and 
retreated, leaving nearly TOO dead upon the field. The loss to 
the Union forces was 300 killed and over 800 Avounded. 

In the afternoon of the 6th of May, 20,000 men commanded 
by Gen. William B. Franklin arrived in transports at West 
Point, on the York river, for the puri:>ose of uniting with Gen. 
McClellan. They were attacked next morning by a division of 
the Confederate forces, who were repulsed. After the conclusion 
of this engagement Franklin speedily united his forces with 
Gen. McClellan's, and the Army of the Potomac continued its 
advance upon Pichmond. 

As McClellan ajDproached Pichmond, several skirmishes of 
little consequence took place along the banks of the Chicka- 
hominy. It appeared as though an immediate attack would be 
made upon Pichmond. Great panic prevailed in the city. 
The Confederate Congress hastily adjourned. But at this junc- 
ture McClellan discovered a large body of Confederates at 
Hanover Court House, who threatened his communication by 
rail with White House Landing, and intercepted the approach 
of Gen. Irvin McDowell, who was to come with 40,000 troops 
to join McClellan. It also maintained communication between 
the Confederate authorities at Pichmond and Fredericksburg. 
McClellan discerned the necessity of driving the Confederates 
from this place. The task was intrusted to Gen. Fitz John 
Porter. After a spirited assault the Confederates were driven 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 169 

from the field, and Hanover Court House was taken by the 
Federals, with a loss of 53 killed and 326 wounded. The 
enemy's loss was somewhat greater. 

The chief military strength of the Confederacy was concen- 
trated in the vicinity of Richmond. Their ablest generals were 
summoned to command. Preparations for a conflict more colos- 
sal than any that had hitherto taken place were made. Gen. 
McDowell was to cooj^erate with McClellan against Richmond, 
by marching due south by way of Fredericksburg. Gen. E^a- 
thaniel P. Banks was to proceed to Winchester, through the 
Shenandoah Valley, by Strasburg, toward Staunton. 

Stonewall Jackson's Campaign in the Shenandoah, 
1862. — Gen. McClellan was anxiously awaiting the arrival of 
McDowell's 40,000 troops. His last orders at night were that 
McDowell's signals should be reported to him without delay. 
The wisdom of Gen. Johnston foresaw disaster for him in the 
probable union of these Federal forces. To prevent it became 
his object. Gen. T. J. ("Stonewall") Jackson was directed 
to move against the Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley, 
threaten Washington, and thus prevent McDowell from joining 
McClellan in his campaign against Richmond. 

A portion of Banks's army under Gen. Shields had encoun- 
tered Jackson's command at Winchester, March 23, and put 
them to flight. Banks pursued the retreating forces with steady 
and unvarying success as far as Strasburg. Here a sudden re- 
verse overtook him. His army had been reduced one-half of the 
original number by demands made upon it for troops for other 



170 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

fields. Gen. fJjH'kson had boeii reinforced l>y K\v(drs division, 
wliicli rejiclie(l liini ^lay 1st. Diseernin*^- tlie advantai^e he tliiis 
liad, he descended like an avalanche with his 15,000 nuni npnn 
J>anks, driving- him down tlic valley. At Front Ilojal, Jackson 
captnred a garrison of 700 men. lie then hnrried down the val- 
ley after Banks, to within a few miles of Harper's Ferry. Banks 
succeeded in making his escape across the Potomac. In this 
memorable retreat of fifty-three miles in forty-eight lionrs, sev- 
eral conflicts took place, the most spirited of which was at Win- 
chester, where for five hours the Union army, nundjcring 5,000, 
withstood the attack of threefold their number. General con- 
sternation prevailed at Washington. The President called 
upon the governors of the N'orthern States to send militia for 
the defense of the National capital, lie took military possession 
of the railroads. McDowell's advance from Fredericksburg t<) 
unite with McClellan was at once countermanded. He was 
ordered up the Shenandoah Valley Avith 20,000 men, in face of 
protests from himself and McClellan. Banks at Harper's Ferry 
and Fremont at Franklin were also directed to move on Jack- 
son, who by this time had become alarmed for his own safety, 
and commenced a precipitous retreat, buniing bridges behind 
him as he went. Several engagements took place between the 
retreating forces of Jackson and his pursuers under Fremont 
and Shields. By a skillful and masterly retreat Jackson suc- 
ceeded in reaching Richmond. While there was no great battle 
fought in the campaign, it bore an important part in the ^AFc- 
Clellan j^eninsular campaign, for by means of 15,000 men 



THE AEMY OF THE POTOMAC. 171 

Jackson succeeded in neutralizing a force of 60,000, and pre- 
vented heavy reinforcements from joining McClellan when they 
were most needed. 

Fair Oaks, May 31, and Seven Pines, June 1, 1862. — 
While these stirring events were going on in the Shenandoah 
Valley, Gen. McClellan sent a corps comprising two divisions 
of about 20,000 to the south side of the Chickahominy, at a 
place called Fair Oaks, located about eight miles east of Rich- 
mond. General Johnston planned to attack and defeat these 
troops with a superiority of numbers, before reinforcements 
could be brought to them. Heavy rains converted the Chicka- 
hominy creek into a raging current, flooded the swamps, made 
the roads impassable, so that a relief expedition was well-nigh 
impossible. 

The Confederates suddenly and unexpectedly made an im- 
petuous charge upon the Federal ranks on Saturday morning, 
May 31. The regiment sent to support the pickets were com- 
pletely demoralized, and carried exaggerated rej)orts of the vast 
numbers of their assailants. The advancing forces were im- 
peded in their progress by a determined stand of Federals at 
a rail fence; but as the ranks of the Confederates became deci- 
mated, new troops from the rear came forward. For three and 
a half hours the 8,000 troops under Gen. Casey held three times 
their number in check, inflicting terrible destruction upon them. 
The Federal troops fought heroically, but after a desperate 
conflict were forced back toward the Chickahominy. Late in 
the afternoon the arrival of Sumner's troops aided in stemming 



172 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. i 

the victorious niarcli of tlio enemy, and in saving the Federal 
forces from total rout. The close of the day found the Confed- 
erates in possession of tlie Federal camp. During tlie niglit im- 
portant reinforcements arrived. The spirit of the Federal 
forces was raised, as their ranks filled up. The next morning 
(Sunday, June 1st) the Confederate advance was met by a 
vigorous and resolute stand by the Federals. The Federals 
puslied forward upon the yielding lines of the foe, until they 
occupied a position a mile in advance of that held at the begin- 
ning of the day's engagement. Thus the misfortunes of the 
defeat of the first day's battle of Fair Oaks was retrieved by the 
victory on the second at Seven Pines. The guns and ammuni- 
tion captured by the Confederates the day before were not 
recovered, as they had been taken into Richmond at the close of 
the first day. The Federal loss during the two-days battle Avas 
890 killed, 3,627 wounded, and 1,222 missing. The official 
rejiort of Gen. J. E. Johnston gives his total number in killed 
and wounded and missing as 6,697. 

The people in the North expected that an immediate advance 
would be made upon Hichmond by McClellan after the battle 
of Seven Pines. It is quite prpbable that if an immcMliatc pur- 
suit had been ordered and an advance made upon Kiclimoiul, 
the result would have been disastrous to the enemy. l)ut the 
difficulty of such a movement is apparent. Only a small portion 
of McClellan's army had crossed the Cliickahominy. A freshet 
the day after the battle of Fair Oaks s\ve])t away the two or 
three bridges that had been constructed over the stream. Eich- \ 



THE AKMT OF THE POTOMAC. 1T3 

Imond was protected bj eight fortifications and defended by 
more than 50,000 men. Operations intended to overcome such 
-formidable defenses, when combined with heroic conduct, had 
ito be conducted on a pL^n whose magnitude was greater than 
; the obstacles to be overcome. 

' In accordance with maxims controlling Gen. McClellan, he 
1 proceeded to select his camp and erect fortifications, intrench- 
ing from Mechanicsville on his right to White Oak Swamp on 
his left, embracing a front of about four miles, mostly parallel 
jwith the Confederates. Portions of the immense army were in 
I view of the spires of Richmond. The heart of the Rebellion 
lay before them. 

In the battle of Fair Oaks Gen. J. E. Johnston, the Confed- 
erate General-in-chief, was severely wounded, and Robert E. 
Lee was called by the master spirits of the Rebellion to lead 
their hosts to battle. 

Concentration of Confederate Forces. — While Mc- 
Clellan was making extensive preparations for the siege of 
Richmond, Gen. Lee was exerting every energy for a massive 
concentration of a formidable army. A large portion of the 
troops so mysteriously withdrawn at Corinth by Beauregard, ap- 
peared before Richmond. Gen. Jackson's force was summoned 
from the Shenandoah. About 100,000 men were assembled in 
the vicinity of Richmond to aid in its defense. 

Gen. J. E. B. Stuart made a circuitous cavalry raid around 
the Federal army. He gained much valuable information, cap- 



174 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

turcd many prisoners, and destroyed about $7,000,000 worth 
of supplies, returning in safety to the Confederate fold. 

The sudden aj^parition of Jackson's forces, the dangerous 
condition of the Federal base of supplies at Wliite House, and 
the failure of ^FcDowell to come to the aid of ^FcC'hdlan, in- 
duced him to recede from Richmond, and change his base from 
White House on the York river to Harrison's Landing on the 
James. 

McCLELLA^^'s "Retreat axd Seven Days' Battle, Juxe 20 
TO July 2, 1862. — Orders were received on the 24tli of Juno 
for the movement of the troops toward Harrison's Laudinii. 
This afforded an opportunity for the enemy to change from the 
defensive to the offensive policy, in which was inaugurated that 
remarkable series of engagements lasting a whole week with 
such destructive fury, and known in history as the " Seven 
Days' Battle." 

Batile of McclianicsrUle, Jvne 26, 1862. — On the 2nth of 
June the Confederate forces issued in vast numbers from the 
camps before Richmond, and commenced a bold assault upon 
the Union army. The attapk was directed against General 
Stoneman's cavalry in the vicinity of Hanover Court House, 
and soon extended to the troops posted in the vicinity of Ife- 
chaiiicsville. IJcinrorcements were brought several tinu^s dur- 
ing the day by both sides. Late in the day a fui'ious cavalry 
charge was met by Federal horse, and driven back. The conflict 
continued till lialf-])ast nine o'clock, with little advantage to 
either party, but the field of battle remained In possession <»l" 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 175 

the Union forces. Gen. Fitz John Porter was in command of 
the entire corps of Union troops engaged during the day. He 
was ably assisted by Generals McCall, Morrell, and Griffin. 
Thns at the close of the first day, the enemy had gained nothing, 
but were not disheartened. They had merely made a begin- 
ning of the gigantic enterprise which they had undertaken, and 
were resolute in the prosecution, as the days following demon- 
strated. 

Battle of Gaines's Mitt , June 27. — During the night Gen. 
ArcClellan gave orders to Gen. Porter for the removal of the 
camp equipage, stores and ammunition to the James river. The 
troops were also ordered to move forward. While these move- 
ments were progressing, the Confederates were receiving rein- 
forcements, and preparing for another assault. The early dawn 
next day, June 27, beheld 60,000 Confederate troops ready for 
battle. Gen. Porter had received orders to remove his troops 
two miles beyond Gaines's Mill. The enemy supposing this 
movement a retreat from battle, followed and overtook the Fed- 
erals, who were prepared to receive them. Here resulted the 
bloody battle of Gaines's Mill, June 27th. The battle began at 
eleven o'clock, and raged during the rest of the day with the 
usual vicissitudes which characterize engagements in which vast 
numbers of brave men contend for the mastery, with equal de- 
grees of valor and fortitude. The enemy had repeatedly at- 
tempted to force the Union men into the low, marshy ground 
between the mill and bridge. They almost succeeded in doing 
it. With desperate energy the Federal troops, numbering 



1 i b THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

27,000, succeeded in holding tlieir ground and in defending tlie 
bridge across the Chiekahominy till night. The losses on both 
sides were heavy: Lee's was 7^700, and McClellan's was 7,000. 
The shades of night settled over the field of carnage and death, 
and put an end to the desperate conflict on the north side of 
the Chiekahominy. 

Battle of Savage's Station^ June 29. — During the night most 
of the Federal troops and baggage trains were removed to the 
south side of the Chiekahominy, and thus they gained some ad- 
vantage over the pursuing enemy. After all the troops had 
crossed the stream, bridges were destroyed to prevent pursuit. 
The Union army withdrew as far as Savage's Station. No en- 
gagement took place on this day, but during the night vast quan- 
tities of commissary stores, ammunition and hospital supplies 
for which there were no means of removal at hand, were de- 
stroyed by orders of Gen. McClellan. Four car-loads of am- 
munition were run into the Chiekahominy to prevent its falling 
into the hands of the enemy. The hospital at Savage's Station, 
containing 2,500 sick and wounded, with surgeons and attend- 
ants, had to be abandoned. These men fell into the hands of the 
enemy, but were treated with humanity. 

On the morning of the 29th, the troops continued their march. 
An engagement took place at Peach Orchard. The main con- 
flict for the day occurred at Savage's Station. It commenced 
at 5 p. M. and lasted until 9 o'clock at night. At midnight ]\[c- 
Clellan gave orders to fall back rapidly from Savage's Station to 
White Oak Swamp, as the Confederates were endeavoring to in- 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 



177 



tercept their retrogade movement. And now the hitherto vol- 
untary march of the Federals degenerated into a flight, pursued 
by the enemy. 

Battle of Glendale or Fraziers Farm, June 30. — At White 
Oak Swamp another desperate engagement took place, known as 
Glendale, White Oak Swamp (or Frazier's Farm, by the Con- 
federates). McClellan directed the lines to be held imtil the 
trains could reach a place of safety on the James, where the 
army could be concentrated to enjoy a brief rest after the 
fatiguing battles and marches through which they were passing ; 
after which, he expected to renew the advance on Richmond. 
The last of the trains reached Malvern Hill by 4 p. m. It then 
remained for the troops to hold their ground till night, when 
they could march to the stronger position on Malvern Hill. 

The fighting began between 12 and 1 o'clock (June 30), was 
very severe, and extended along the whole line. The Confed- 
erate artillery inflicted serious loss upon Franklin's command, 
but he held his ground till night. Their attempts to cross White 
Oak Swamp Crossing were unsuccessful. Slocum withstood the 
enemy's attack at the Charles City road. McCall's division was 
forced back, but Hooker came up from the left and Sedgwick 
from the rear, and together drove the foe from the field. In- 
effectual assaults were made upon Kearny, Porter, Sumner and 
Heintzelman. The firing continued until after dark. During 
the night all the remaining corps of the Union army were with- 
drawn to Malvern Hill. 



12 



178 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Battle of Malvern Hill, July 1. — The inorniiig of July 1 
found the Union army posted on Malvern Hill, rising like an 
amphitheater and overlooking the river, which was crowded 
witli transports and vessels of all descriptions. The hill was 
arranged with tier after tier of Federal batteries, rising to the 
plateau above. Generals Keyes, Slocum, Franklin, Sumner, 
Porter, Kearnv and Heintzelman were there with their broken 
corps of the once splendid Army of the Potomac. The enemy 
was commanded by Generals Lee, Hill, Longstreet, Magruder, 
and Jackson. They opened a spirited engagement at four o'clock, 
Tuesday, July 1st. The fight was continued until ten o'clock 
at night. Three times the determined foe tried to capture the 
hill and drive the Federals down, but each time they were driven 
back with frightful carnage by the combined fire of artillery 
and musketry. 

Thus ended the battle of Malvern Hill, the last of the Seven 
Days' Battle. Thus ended the last assault by the Confederates 
upon the troops of the Union in the " Peninsular Campaign." 
Thus terminated one of the most extraordinary campaigns which 
has ever occurred in the blood-stained annals of ancient or mod- 
ern warfare. The loss on both sides was appalling. During 
the seven days' operation, the enemy lost over 20,000 men; ^Ic- 
Clellan's loss was about 1G,000. 

McC'lellan moved his troops to Harrison Landing, a strip of 
land along the north bank of the James river, five miles long, 
with several good wharves for the discharge of cargoes, situated 
eight miles from Malvern Hill. Being naturally well adapted 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 179 

for defense, the vigorous use of tlie spade soon made it impreg- 
nable against all attacks. The enemy had inflicted terrible 
punishment upon the Union forces, but had themselves received 
such calamitous reception that they withdrew from the conflict. 

In effect, the Peninsular Campaign was a complete failure. 
It had not only failed in the capture of Richmond, but Mc- 
Clellan was compelled to change his base of operations, was 
forced to take the defensive, and retreat, in the series of battles. 
Immense quantities of stores had been captured or destroyed 
by the Confederates, and the Union army was cooped up on 
Harrison Landing. 

Richmond being relieved from immediate peril of attack, Lee 
headed his army toward the IN'orth, to crush the Federals under 
Pope and threaten Washington. ' 



CHAPTER XTTI. 

POPE'S CAMPAIGN. 

The Organization of the Army of Virginia. — The recent 
reverses around Richmond induced the President to put fortli 
more strenuous efforts to strengthen the Union, and to resume 
an offensive campaign against the Confederates, lie called for 
a levy of 300,000 troops, and preparations were immediately 
made by the various States to comply with the requisition. 
Gen. Henry W. Halleck was summoned to Washington, and 
invited to assume the duties and discharge the functions of Gen- 
eral-in-chief of the land forces of the United States. The order 
was dated July 11, 18G2, but he did not take command until 
the 23d. A new army, called the Army of ^"irginia, was organ- 
ized, comprising the three corps of Fremont, Banks, and IMc- 
Dowell. The troops under Generals Sumner, Burnside and 
Porter were sent in the latter part of August to reinforce this 
newly organized army. Gen. flolin Pope was summoned from 
his Western successes, June 2()tli, 1802, to assume tlu^ eliiet" 
command of the new department. Fremont, regarding Gen. 
Pope as his junior, accordingly tendered his resignation, wlilcli 
was accepted, and Gen. Sigel was assigned to his corps. The 
Army of Virginia now numbered more than 40,000. Its dnty 
was to cover Washington, defend .Mai'vhmd nnd tlie lower Shen- 
andoah Valley, and tinally to thi-eattMi Kiehniond from the 

(180) 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 181 

north, and there nnite in the operations of McClellan against 
that city. The failure of McClellan before Richmond and Lee's 
subsequent invasion of the ^orth compelled a revision of these 
designs. 

Cedar Mountain, August 9, 1862. — Gen. Pope was ordered 
to cross the Rappahannock and threaten Gordonsville. From 
the base of the Blue Ridge mountains he expected to be able to 
defend the approaches to Washington, to flank the columns which 
might be sent to the Shenandoah Vallev, while he was preparing 
for an aggressive movement toward Richmond. Gen. Lee or- 
dered Jackson with his veteran troops and Ewell with his divi- 
sion to Gordonsville to oppose Gen. Pope's advance. A. P. Hill's 
division soon followed; increasing the Confederate forces to 
25,000 men in the vicinity of Gordonsville. Pope's forces 
had already advanced to Culpeper Court House. On the 9th of 
August a Union division met the Confederates near Cedar 
J\rountain. A furious engagement occurred. The enemy was 
strongly posted, and was assailed by a force less than one-half 
of its own. The Confederates had the advantage in position, 
in numbers, and in the result. Pope then began a concentration 
of his forces, and expected the next day to operate upon Jack- 
son's base, and compel him to fight on equal terms. During the 
night, however, Jackson withdrew from his j^osition, and re- 
crossed the Rapidan. The Union losses were about 2,400 
against 1,300 for the enemy. While Pope's cavalry was in pur- 
suit of the fugitives, it was discovered that Lee's whole army 
was moving in that direction, and near at hand. The pursuit 



182 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

was discontinued, and a retreat to the Kappaliannoek coni- 
luenced. 

Lee began liis northward movement August 13tli, as lie be- 
lieved that Eichmond was in no great danger, and that by 
threatening Washington the Army of the Potomac would be re- 
called from the capital city of the Confederacy. 

^fcClellan was ordered to transfer his army to Acquia creek 
and Alexandria, and both the Army of Virginia and the Army 
of the Potomac were placed under the command of Pope. I^fc- 
Clellan evacuated the peninsula on the iTth of August. Lee 
was determined to strike the army under Pope before it should 
be reinforced by IfcClellan's hosts. Gen. Pope, who had ex- 
pected to renew the battle against Jackson in the vicinity of 
Cedar Mountain, now realized that his only hope of success lay 
in fighting a series of retreating battles against Lee until the 
arrival of the Army of the Potomac. He took position to the 
rear of the Eappahannock, August lY, to be better able to re- 
ceive aid and to oppose the invading army. 

All efforts of Gen. Pope and his army to prevent the Confed- 
erate forces from crossing the Eappahannock at Waterloo bridge 
and elsewhere were of no avail. The main purpose of the resist- 
ance by the Union troops at the stream was to gain time mid 
enable Gen. ]\rcClellan to reach the scene of action with tlie 
Army of the Potomac. 

During the night of the 21st the Confederates threw pontoon 
bridges over the stream, and crossed in great numbers. The 
following day the batteries of both armies along the river con- 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 183 

tinned to exchange shots. These skirmishes, of greater or less 
importance, were preliminary to the more decisive engagements 
soon to take place. While they progressed, many were slain, 
bridges bnrned, much property destroyed, and desolation spread 
over the face of the country. 

Second Battle of Bull Kun, Aug. 29 and 30, 18G2. — A 
mysterious delay characterized the movements of the Army of 
the Potomac, and Gen. Pope was ultimately compelled to meet 
the whole military strength of the Confederacy in Virginia, 
without the aid of the main Union army. 

The operations of the Confederate generals were skillful and 
complicated. While Lee was engaging the attention of Pope, 
Gen. Jackson was reaching for a position in his rear. When 
Pope discovered the intention of the Confederate generals, he 
hastened toward Manassas Junction, and directed McDowell 
and Sigel to proceed with their troops to Gainesville, and Heintz- 
elman and Reno to proceed to Greenwich. 

Gen. Lee sent Jackson toward Pope's right wing to flank 
him. Passing through Thoroughfare Gap, he occupied a posi- 
tion to the rear of Pope's army. Gen. Pope, seeing the isolated 
position of Jackson's army, determined to " bag " and capture 
him. But the Army of the Potomac not promptly reinforcing 
him, his plans failed. An engagement took place in which the 
Federals had the advantage. Pope took possession of Manassas, 
and effected a consolidation of his troops, about 60,000 in num- 
ber, Thursday night, August 28. It was thought that the de- 
cisive battle of the war was about to be fought. This great bat- 



184 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

tic wns coniiueiK'cd at dayliglit on Friday, August 2r)tli, 1S02. 
'Vhv (\)iif ('derate forces numbered not far from 100,000 men. 
The first day's battle was favorable to the Federals. During- 
the engagement an opportunity was afforded to surround Jack- 
son's forces, wlio were seeking to break through the Union cen- 
ter, and to form a junction with Lee. Gen. Pope had planned 
to crush or capture Jackson's division, but Gen. Porter failed 
to execute the orders sent to him, and the plan failed. 

The second day was disastrous to the Union army. The over- 
wliolining host of the enemy bore down upon the Union troops 
with irresistible power. When night came Gen. Pope ordered 
a retreat to Centerville. The order w^as promptly executed. 
At Centerville reinforcements under Franklin and Sumner ar- 
rived from IMcClellan's Army of the Potomac. Had these been 
sent a day earlier, the result of the conflict might have been 
different. It was expected that Tee would follow up his victory 
l)y an attack of the Union forces next day. Put the heavy losses 
suffered by both, and the great exertion which both had put 
forth, made a short interval of delay and repose necessary. The 
Federal army bivouacked at Centerville, awaiting further move- 
ments of the enemy. 

On the first of September the Confederates were massing 
forces for the purpose of attacking the Federal wagon-trains. 
Gen. Pope sent a division of troops to attack them. A fierce 
conflict took place near Chantilly, three miles distant from Cen- 
terville. The enemy was repulsed, after which the Federal 
troops returned to camp. 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 185 

The retreat of the whole Federal army was resumed on the 
night of September 1st, toward Washington, and on the 3d the 
grand armies of Virginia and the Potomac had arrived in their 
old quarters, protected by thirty forts, which sheltered the Fed- 
eral capital. 

Thus ended the campaign of Gen. Pope in Virginia, one of 
the most disastrous to the Federal cause that had yet taken 
place. The Union loss was about 14,000 and the Confederate 
loss about 9,000. 

The battle of Chantilly cost the Union army two able officers 
— Generals Philip Kearny and Isaac Ingalls Stevens. The 
former was devotedly loved by his soldiers, and feared by the 
enemy. He w^as a stranger to fear, and in every engagement he 
was seen moving majestically in the fiercest and thickest of the 
combat. On the battle-field, taking his sword in his only hand, 
the reins in his teeth, he had often led his troops in the most 
desperate and irresistible charges. In this engagement he rode 
forward, unattended by any of his staff, into a gap that threat- 
ened the safety of the Federal lines, and fell mortally wounded, 
into the hands of tlie enemy. The next morning a flag of truce 
was sent into the Union lines, bearing with it the remains of the 
deceased hero. 

He had served w^ith distinction in the Mexican War, fought 
as a volunteer in the French army in Algeria and the Crimea, 
and led the patriotic troops of ^ew Jersey in the memorable 
" Peninsular Campaign. '^ 

The failure of Gen. Pope to successfully check the advance of 



/ 
186 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

the CoiitVdcrati' army north is due to the fact that his iiuinbers, 
without the Army of the Potomac, were much less than those of 
Lee, and the nnion of the two armies was not perfected in time 
to meet the advance of Lee's army. Pope was completely out- 
generaled by the sagacity of Lee and the splendid marching 
capacity of Jackson; but he was brave, and loyal, and when lie 
fought it was with a will beyond his discretion, lie failed to 
divine the movements o:? his foe, and in consequence was not 
able to fight to the best purpose. 

Pope attributed his defeat to the failure of Fitz Jolin Porter 
to obey his orders to attack Longstreet on August 20th. 

After the return of the troops to the works around Washing- 
ton, Gen. Pojie tendered his resignation of the command of the 
Army of Virginia and the Army of the Potomac, and requested 
to be transferred to some other post of duty, lie was imme- 
diately api")ointed to the command of tlie (h'partmcnt of the 
Northwest, in which lay the territory of the revolted Indian 
tribes. 

Before leaving Wasliington, Gen. Pope preferred charges 
against several officers, chief of whom was Gen. Porter, for dis- 
obeying orders. The charges were investigated at a later period 
by a court-martial convened in Washington. It was proven in 
the trial that Porter entertained a personal hostility to Pope, 
and had sent telegrams ridiculing the order and management. 
Gen. Porter was found guilty of the charges preferred against 
him. The finding was approved by the President, Jan. 21, 



THE ARMY OF THE TOTOMAC. 187 

1863. Porter was cashiered, and dismissed from service, and 
" forever disqualified from holding any office of profit or trust 
under the Government of the United States." In 1878 a board 
of officers retried him, and an entirely new light was thrown 
ui^on the case. It was shown that Porter's act " saved the Union 
Army from disaster on the 29th of August.'' By an act of Con- 
gress, Porter once again received a commission to the United 
States Army, and in 1886 he was placed on the retired list. 

Lee's Invasion of Maryland, September, 1862. — The re- 
markable successes which the Confederates had achieved in 
Virginia inspired them with confidence, and made them more 
aggressive. Lee, accordingly, began the invasion of Maryland. 
He passed through Leesburg, crossing the Potomac about forty 
miles above Washington. On the 6th the advance army com- 
manded by Gen. Jackson reached Frederick, and took possession 
of that town. Such Federal property as fell into their hands 
they retained or destroyed. The property of individuals was not 
to be molested, in accordance with a proclamation issued by 
Gen. Jackson when he entered the State. 

Lee imagined a strong disunion sentiment was slumbering in 
the breasts of the people of Maryland, and that the presence of 
his army in their midst would start active and open resistance 
to the Government. In his proclamation Lee endeavored to 
convince the people of that State that they had suffered in- 
numerable wrongs at the hands of the N^ational Government, 
and tendered his services and those of his army to assist in 



188 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

recovoriiii^ their ^' inalienable rights " as freemen. But the 
Confederate army received little sympathy and coo]U'ration 
from the citizens of Maryland. The army marched through 
]\riddletown, Boonsboro, Williamsport, and reached Ilagerstown 
September 9th. . • 



CHAPTEK XIY. 

FROM ANTIETAM TO FREDERICKSBURG. 

South Mountain, Sept. 14, 1862. — Gen. McClellan was re- 
instated to the command of the Army of the Potomac after the 
resignation of Gen. Pope. Leaving troops for the defense of 
Washington, he put his army in motion in pursuit of Lee. The 
loyalty of the people of Maryland and the approach of McClel- 
lan's army induced Lee to move south with the intention of cross- 
ing the Potomac at Williamsport and Harper's Ferry. Gen. Mc- 
Clellan placed his army in such a position that it was impossible 
for Lee to retreat without giving battle. 

The left wing of the Federal army pursued the enemy to 
South Mountain. Here w^as a stubborn and bloody contest. 
The Union forces succeeded in dislodging the enemy from Tur- 
ner's and Crampton's Gaps, and took possession of the field as 
it was abandoned under the friendly covering of the night. This 
engagement was called the battle of South Mountain by the 
Federals, and the battle of Boonsboro by the Confederates. 

The Union loss was about two thousand, and the Confed- 
erate loss as many in killed and wounded, besides 1,500 pris- 
oners. 

The Union army had forced a passage through the moun- 
tains, but Lee had gained time to concentrate his scattered 
forces. 

(189) 



190 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

The Fall of ITakpek's Ferry, Sept. 15, 18G2. — Scarcely 
had the exultant news of the victory of South Mountain been 
fully realized, when all joy was dispelled by the sad tidings of 
the disastrous defeat of the Union forces at Harper's Ferry. 
This famous place, so often the scene of conflict and disaster in 
the progress of the war, had been intrusted to Col. Dixon 11. 
Miles. When McClellan was reinstated to the command of the 
Armv of the Potomac, he recommended the withdrawal of the 
11,000 troops at Harper's Ferry, but Halleck unwisely over- 
ruled him, — and soon they Avere withdrawn as Confederate 
prisoners of war ! 

Lee sent Stonewall Jackson with 20,000 men against Har- 
per's Ferry. Skirmishing commenced on the afternoon of the 
12th of September, and continued until Monday, September 
15th. During the progress of the conflict, the enemy had been 
reinforced. In vain had Col. Miles, on Sunday, implored for 
reinforcements. The place had been threatened for a week, 
but adequate precaution had not been exercised to save it to the 
Nation. At 8 o'clock on Monday morning the Federal ammuni- 
tion was exhausted. Col. Miles immediately called a council of 
war, which determined to capitulate, as further resistance would 
lead to a needless loss of life. Previous to the surrender, all the 
cavalry, about two thousand in number, succeeded in cutting 
their way through the Confederate works, and in making their 
escape. After capitulation had becMi proposed, but before its 
terms had l>een agreed upon, C\)l. Miles was mortally wounded 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 191 

by one of the bursting shells which continued to fall from the 
enemy's cannon. 

Battle of Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862. — After the defeat of 
the enemy at South Mountain, they continued their retreat 
toward the Potomac. Lee halted when he reached the heights 
between the village of Sharpsburg and Antietam creek ; here he 
concentrated his scattered corps. Jackson returned with his 
wearied troops flushed with the victory at Harper's Ferry, and 
all prepared for the impending conflict. 

McClellan reconnoitered the Confederate position on the 
15th of September, and the next day he developed his plan of 
attack. Hooker occupied the right of the Union army, Burn- 
side the left, and Meade the center. Hooker crossed Antietam 
creek late in the afternoon. Scarcely more than a skirmish 
ensued before darkness came. 

Early on the morning of the 17th of September the conflict 
began. General Hooker's division opened the engagement. The 
assault became furious. Hooker was seriously wounded, and 
compelled to leave the field. Gen. Sumner took his command. 
Four times the ground he contended for was lost, and four 
times retaken. The operations of Burnside on the left wing 
were as vigorous as those of Hooker on the right. At four 
o'clock Gen. McClellan sent word to Burnside to advance and 
get possession of the enemy's batteries in front of him, at all 
hazards. After a spirited engagement the hill was taken, but as 
no reinforcements were sent to him by McClellan, who had 
15,000 reserves in the rear, he was unable to hold what he had 



192 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

gained against the augmented forces of the foe. He was driven 
l)ack to a position in front of the bridge. The Union advance 
was impetuous, the Confederate defense was as obstinate. The 
artillery in the center did effective work. The protracted strug- 
gle had nearly exhausted both sides. At length darkness de- 
scended u])on the horrible scene, and closed the conflict of the 
day. On the one hand, the enemy had not been driven from the 
field; on tlie other, the Union troops retained the position of 
original assault, expecting to renew the conflict. Both armies 
rested on the 18th. But on the morning of the 10th, when Mc- 
Clellan's cavalry moved toward the river, they discovered that 
Lee had quietly moved oif across the Potomac during the night, 
leaving his dead and desperately woimded on the field. 

The Union loss was 12,469 as reported by McClellan. Lee 
reported his loss at 10,00(1, while his division commanders 
placed the aggregate in killed, wounded and missing at 13,533. 

The efl'ect of this battle was a victory for the Union army. 
The North was saved from further invasion, and Washington 
relieved from imminent danger. 

Gen. Lee dispatched Stuart, the noted cavalry leader, on a 
raid into Pennsylvania with 1,500 horse. He made a circuit of 
McClellan's army October 9th to 12th. Crossing the Potomac 
at Williamsport, he proceeded as far as Chambersburg. lie for- 
aged the country, plundered stores, destroyed property, and took 
away as much booty as his troopers could carry. The Union cav- 
alry went in pursuit of them, but they succeeded in making their 
escape, and again joined the ranks of Lee's army. 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 193 

The Confederate army under Lee passed down tlie Shenan- 
doah Valley. His own headquarters were at Berrysville, and 
his army in the vicinity of Winchester. He had been reinforced 
by the troops from West Virginia. McClellan, after ,9, delay at 
Antietam, moved southeast of the mountains, and located his 
headquarters at Salem. 

It was evident that the future plans of the commanding gen- 
erals of the two armies were incomplete and undeveloped at this 
time. Reconnoitering expeditions were sent out to ascertain the 
plans of the opposing armies. Several skirmishes occurred, pro- 
ductive of no decisive results. Winter was fast approaching; 
almost two months had elapsed since the battle of Antietam, 
and nothing of importance had taken place. General dissatis- 
faction existed with the tardy manner in wliich McClellan had 
pursued the enemy. On the 5th of November, while at Warren- 
ton, an order was conveyed to him by Gen. Buckingham that he 
had been relieved of the duties as commander of the Army of 
the Potomac, and had been superseded by Gen. Ambrose E. 
Burnside. He was ordered to report at Trenton, E". J. 

McClellan held the devotion of his officers, and the whole 
body of the army were enthusiastic in their affection for him. 
Burnside himself would gladly have served under McClellan, 
but he had no alternative except to disobey orders ; so he reluc- 
tantly assumed command of the Army of the Potomac and Mc- 
Clellan took his departure on 'Nov. 10th. 

Battle of Fredericksbueg, Dec. 13, 1862. — The move- 
ment of the army toward Fredericksburg was commenced on a 

— 13 



194 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

direct line for conducting operations against liiclnnond, wliicli 
was now contemplated. As Burnside moved from Warrenton 
along the north bank of the Rappahanock, Lee made a parallel 
movement along the south bank. By forced marches the Con- 
federate army succeeded in occupying Fredericksburg in ad- 
vance of the Union army, and at once proceeded to fortify their 
front. By Xov. 20tli the Federal army was concentrated at 
Falmouth, which is on the north side of the stream, across from 
Fredericksburg. The next day Burnside demanded the surren- 
der of the city, which was refused. Lee had assend)led an army 
of about 90,000 men, — opposed by a force of 120,000. 

Finally, preparations for the crossing of the river were com- 
menced on the 11th of December. Those constructing the \um- 
toon bridges, being exposed to a deadly fire from the Confederate 
sharpshooters, were three times driven back. Volunteers charged 
upon the sharpshooters, and drove them away, after which the 
bridges were completed, and the army passed over the river with- 
out any obstruction. 

On the 13tli of December began the obstinate and bloody 
battle of Fredericksburg. The enemy had exerted every energy 
to fortify themselves with impregnal)le defenses. A large por- 
tion of the army was posted behind a stone wall four feet high. 
The Federal troops made a valiant and determined effort to 
drive the foe from llieir defenses. Again and again tluy 
charged \\])(m tlie enemy's W(M'ks, but each time tluy wei'e dri\-en 
back with frightfnl shinghter. Of all tlie Fe<lei';il ti"<»oj)s en- 
gaged, those under Franklin nlone had gaine<l an advantage. 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 195 

At length it became evident that any further attempt to take 
the heights would be futile, and result in a continuation of the 
reckless destruction of life. The troops were compelled to retire 
from the scene of their heroism, and took a position beyond the 
range of the batteries of the unconquerable foe. 

'No fighting of any importance took place on Sunday, the 
14th. Some skirmishing occurred on the next day. During the 
following night, Burnside withdrew his forces across the Rap- 
pahannock to their former position. 

The Federal loss in this battle was 1,128 killed, 9,105 
wounded, 3,234 missing. The Confederate loss was about 
5,000. The great disparity of Federal loss was due to the 
superior advantages of position and protection enjoyed by the 
Confederates, and to their vast number of guns brought into 
action. 

Burnside wished to repeat the assault on the 14th, but the 
firm protests of his officers against such suicidal madness in- 
duced him to give way in his desires. 

Lee was blamed for not leaving his defenses to complete the 
demoralization of the Army of the Potomac. For Lee to have 
left his works before the defeat of Burnside, would have been 
to invite defeat; and for him to have assailed the Union armv 
in their defenses at Falmouth, would have been a repetition of 
Burnside's blunders. 

The usefulness of Burnside as commander of the Army of 
the Potomac was at an end. Officers and soldiers alike felt that 
he had misjudged in ordering an assault upon the strong de- 



196 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

feiises of Fredericksburg. At his own request he was relieved 
of this command by the Presick'ut, and Joseph Hooker was 
appointed to succeed him. Hooker arrived at Fahnoutli on the 
2 nth of January to assume the responsibilities of his new duties. 
A period of several months elapsed before the Army r>f the 
Potomac again met the enemy in battle. 



CHAPTEK XV. 

CH ANCEI.I.ORS VIIjIiE . 

The Battle of Chaxcelloesville, May 1-3, 1863. — 
When Gen. Hooker took command of the Army of the Potomac, 
its spirit and efficiency Avere at a low ebb. Desertions occnrred 
at the rate of 200 a day. The number absent from their regi- 
ments as shown by the rolls was 2,922 officers and 81,964 
soldiers and non-commissioned officers — in hospitals, on leave, 
or detached on duty; but many had deserted. The frequent 
audacious Confederate cavalry raids during the winter indi- 
cated the confidence and elation of the enemy, and the apathy 
born of despair, of the Federals. The Union army, though still 
greater in numbers, was probably at this time no match on equal 
terms for its better disciplined, self-confident and more deter- 
mined foe. Hooker very properly devoted two months to organ- 
izing his army, disciplining his troops, and exalting the spirits 
of his men. His energy and resources were such, that in a short 
time he had at his command an army equal in numbers and 
efficiency to any ever seen on this continent, save that which 
McClellan commanded in the first three months of 1861. The 
infantry numbered 100,000; artillery, 10,000; and cavalry, 
13,000. As horses and feed were both scarce in the South, 
there was not and never had been a Confederate cavalry force 
that could stand against the one at Hooker^s command. 

(197) 



108 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Stoneman was disj")atcliod \\\) the north side of the Rappahaii- 
noek April 27th, 1863, with orders to cross above the Orange & 
Alexandria Railroad; to strike Fitz Hugh Lee's cavalry, near 
Culpeper Court House, capture Gordonsville, and cut off Lee's 
coniniunication with Eichniond by destroying the Fredericks- 
burg & Richmond Railroad, telegraph lines and bridges. 

The next day, April 28th, Hooker set his infantry and artil- 
lery in motion from Falmoutli for a camj)aign against Lee. 
Howard's and Slocum's corps crossed the Rai)pahannock at 
I^elly's Ford, and the Rapidan at Germania Mills, next day, 
and then moved toward Chancellorsville. Meade's cor])s 
crossed the Rapidan at Ely's Ford, lower down. Couch crossed 
witli his corps at the LTnited States Ford, on pontoons. These 
movements liad been masked by a feint of crossing below FtimI- 
ericksburg. Reynolds's, Sickles's and Sedgwick's corps, how- 
ever, did cross some distance below Fredericksburg, after the 
river had been forded above. Thus far, Gen. Hooker had 
signal success in seizing the fords and crossing the streams. 
[N'ever did a general feel more sanguine of administering a 
great and crusliing defeat to his opponent. " I liave Lee's army 
in one lumd and Richmond in the other," was his exnhant 
remark as he rode up to the single but capacious (at once man- 
sion and tavern) house that then, with its appendages, consti- 
tuted Chancellorsville. 

Leaving a small force for the defense of Fredericksburg, 
Lee pushed his main aiMiiy, at least 50,000 strong, down the 
Gordonsville road to a point half-way to Chancellorsville. 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 199 

Hooker had left Gen. Gibbons in command of Falmouth, to 
guard the stores; and Sedgwick had his own corps of 22,000 
men below Fredericksburg, leaving the Union forces about 
70,000 in the vicinity of Chancellorsville. And here was 
fought, on the 1st, 2d and 3d of May, one of the bloodiest bat- 
tles of the war. Hooker had planned to move from above Fred- 
ericksburg, while Sedgwick, in command of the other wing, was 
to move from below; and thus, by a simultaneous movement, 
crush the foe between them. 

Gen. Hooker had been obliged to leave behind him most of 
his heavier guns. He was enveloped in a labyrinth of woods 
and thickets, which were traversed by narrow roads, every inch 
of which was familiar to the Confederates, and unknown to 
Hooker and his men. His ignorance of the region of woods pre- 
vented Hooker from bringing most of his troops into action at 
any one time. 

While Pleasonton's artillery was supporting Sickles's infan- 
try to arrest the impetuous charge of 25,000 troops under Stone- 
w^all Jackson, night descended upon the scene, but did not end 
the contest. In front of these batteries fell Stonewall Jackson."^ 

Mortally wounded in a dense WT)od, shrouded by the gloom of 
niglit, while men were falling all around him from the grape 

*"Gen. Jackson rode ahead of his skirmishers, and exposed himself 
to a close and dangerous fire of the Confederate sharpshooters, posted 
in the timber. It was now between 9 and 10 o'clock at night ; the little 
body of horsemen was taken for Federal cavalry, and the regiments on 
the right and left fired a volley into them, with the most lamentable 
results. Several of his staff were killed. Gen. Jackson received one ball 



200 THE CIVIL WAR IJY CAMI'AKiNS. 

1111(1 caiiistor of tlio I^nion guns, it may seem difficult to deter- 
mine whether Jackson was shot by his own or by T^nion men. 
The best authority substantiates the theory that his wounds 
were inflicted by his own men. 

Ilis loss was the greatest the Confederates had yet sustained 
in the fall of a single man, though Albert Sidney Johnston had 
military talent of a high order. Jackson's power over his men 
was unexcelled by any officer. It Avas justified by his sound- 
ness of judgment, as well as by his intrepidity of sjnrit. Ilis 
attacks were soundly i)lanne(l, and the opposing forces well 
calculated. lie refused to sacrifice the lives of his men in vain 
endeavors, with the same spirit that led him in his most brilliant 
charges. 

While Gen. Hooker was leaning against a pillar of the Chan- 
cellorsville house watching the battle, a cannon-ball struck the 
pillar, hurling him to the floor insensible. At this very moment 
Gen. Sickles was committing great havoc upon the Confederate 
lines, but as his cartridges were running low, he sent twice to 

in his left arm, shattering the bone and severing an artery ; a second 
j)assed through the same arm below the elbow; a third passed tlirough 
the palm of his hand. He fell from his horse, and was cauglit by Captain 
Wormly, to whom he said, 'All my wounds are by my own men.' 

"The firing was responded to by the F(»derals, who made a sudden 
advance; and actually charged over Jackson's body. He was not dis- 
covered, however; and after the Federals were driven back he was 
rescued. One of the litter-bearers was shot down, and Jackson fell 
from the shoulders of the men, receiving a severe contusion, and injuring 
his side. He was taken to the hospital, and died eight days after. His 
remains were taken to Lexington, Va., his own home." — [From the Life 
of Stonewall Jackson : By a Virginian.] 



THE ARMY OF THE TOTOMAC. 201 

Hooker for assistance. But as Hooker was lying unconscious, 
and Couch, who was next in rank, had not assumed the respon- 
sibility of command, no aid was sent to Sickles, and he was 
compelled to fall back. Had a corps been sent to Sickles, he 
believes victory would have been his. By noon, Hooker re- 
gained consciousness and assumed command. But the pre- 
cious hour had passed while the army was without a head. 

After Lee had dealt a telling blow to Hooker's forces at 
Chancellorsville, he learned that Sedgwick had carried the 
heights of Fredericksburg. Leaving Hooker inactive from the 
blow already inflicted upon him, he turned upon his new foe, 
crowding him back to the river, and next day across it. 

Hooker's plan of having Sedgwick fall upon the rear of Lee's 
army simultaneously with his own attack in front, and between 
them crush the enenvy, had failed. How hazardous an attempt 
at concerted action of a great army from distant points, was not 
now learned for the first time. 

After Sickles was out of the way, Lee turned his whole force 
toward Hooker, who was quietly sitting behind his hastily con- 
structed defenses at Chancellorsville. But the enemy had been 
marching and fighting until they were exhausted, and were 
slaughtered in their reckless assault on our batteries on Sunday, 
May 3d ; and Lee was not willing to repeat the attack. The day 
passed with but little skirmishing, and during the night Hooker 
recrossed the river to his old camping-grounds at Falmouth. 

This defeat cost the Union army in killed and wounded, 
17,197 men, and two generals, — Berry and Whipple. The 



202 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Confederate loss is variously estiniatcd at fn.iii 11^,000 tu 18,000 
men, and Generals Paxtou and eJaekson — ""Stonewall" Jack- 
son, whose presence was like magic to his troops. 

The operations of the cavalry nnder Stoneman had l)een ill- 
advised, feeble, and inefficient. If his forces had been kept 
togetlier he conld have severed all connimnications between Lee 
and Kicliiii(»nd, is(»latini>' him from su])])lies, and rendered his 
position i)recarions and dangerous. l)issi])ating his forces as 
he did, he was too weak to meet the enemy, and kept running 
from them instead of running after them, and gave his expedi- 
tion the appearance of a furtive raid on smokehonses and hen- 
roosts, rather than that of a great military movement of a stu- 
pendous war. 

Thus ended the campaign at C^hancellorsville, — the second 
serious disaster that the Army of the Potomac had sustained 
within a period of six months. The hearts of the people of the 
South beat in exultation as they beheld the ascendency of the 
Southern arms. Gloom and depression pervaded the homes of 
the loyal peo]de in the North, while the Southern sjmpathi/crs 
became clamorous for a tcM'uii nation of hostilities upon the 
basis of independence of the South. 



* 



CHAPTEK XVI. 
GETTYSBURG. 

Lee's Second Invasion of the Noktii, June and July, 
18(33. — After the battle of Chancellorsville the two oiDposing 
armies occupied exactly the same j^ositions which they did some 
days after the battle of Antietam, — Hooker at Falmouth and 
Lee across the river at Fredericksburg. Hooker lost some 
!^0,000 men by expiration of their term of service. His army 
had been depleted after the sanguinary battle of Chancellors- 
ville. Gen. Lee's forces had been reinforced by the hasty return 
of Longstreet from his^sterile demonstration before Suffolk, and 
by drafts upon every quarter from which a regiment could be 
secured. 

Gen. Lee, with probably a superiority of numbers, for a tem- 
porary period, after a month of rest and waiting set his army in 
motion up along the south bank of the Rappahannock, concen- 
trating forces at Culpeper Court House. And then began his 
second invasion of the North. Passing down the Shenandoah 
Valley, on June 14 he defeated R. H. Milroy at Winchester, 
and took about 4,000 prisoners. The Government had taken the 
alarm, organized two new military departments in Pennsyl- 
vania, and called on the nearest States for a large number of 
militia. 

(203) 



204 



THE riVTT. WAK KY CAMPAIGNS. 




THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 205 

Gen. Hooker began to marcli north along the Bhie Ridge, 
watching its passes, throngh Dnnifries to Centerville, covering 
Washington on the riglit. Meantime onr cavah'v nnder Pleas- 
onton was constantly confronted by that of Lee nnder Stnart, 
and nearly every day witnessed some skirmishing along the 
passes of the monntains. 

The Confederates crossed the Potomac, taking possession of 
Chambersbnrg, Carlisle, and York. Gen. Hooker crossed the 
Potomac at Edwards Perry, and advanced to Frederick. His 
army, being strengthened by 15,000 men from the defenses of 
Washington, nnmbered abont 100,000, while Lee's army was 
abont eqnal in size. 

It w^as very imperative that a force snfficiently strong shonld 
be concentrated to repel the invaders. With this pnrpose in 
view. Gen. Llooker desired the troops stationed at Maryland 
Heights opposite Harper's Ferry to be Avithdrawn from that 
point. Gen. Halleck, General-in-chief at Washington, objected 
to the withdrawal of the troops, and instrncted Hooker to defend 
the place on the left and Washington on the right, and meet the 
invading army. After commnnicating w^ith Halleck, and receiv- 
ing his instruction, Hooker sent the following resignation: 

Sandy Hook, June 27, 1863. 
3faj. Gen. H. W. Halleck, General-in-Chief : Your original instruction 
required me to cover Harper's Ferry and Washington. I have now im- 
posed upon me, in addition, an enemy in front, of more than my num- 
bers. I beg to be understood, respectfully but firmly, that I am unable 
to comply with this condition, with the means at my disposal, and ear- 
nestly request that I may at once be relieved from the position I occupy. 

Joseph Hooker, Maj. Gen. 



206 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Halleck never luul been favorable to Hooker as commaiidor 
of this army. lie liad jH-cvcnted liis selection as the successor 
of McClellan, and liad ()])])()sed his selection after the defeat of 
Burnside, and now very naturally improved the opportunity 
afforded. The next day Hooker was relieved of the command 
at Frederick, and the army was placed under the command of 
Gen. G. G. Meade, who was advised that he might do what he 
pleased with the ^faryland Heights men; while Couch and his 
militia at Harrisl)urg, estimated at 20,000, were also placed 
under his orders. 

Such a change of commanders on the eve of a great battle for 
no more urgent reasons has but few parallels in history. What- 
ever his faults. Hooker was loved and trusted by his soldiers, 
who knew less of Meade. If they had been consulted, they 
would have cast an overwhelming majority vote in favor of 
Hooker. 

Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. — Gen. Ewell of 
the Confederate army occupied York June 28th, and levied 
upon the town for $100,000 in cash, and a vast quantity of food 
and clothing. Lee had hastened to concentrate his whole army 
at Gettysburg when he heard that the Union army had crossed 
the Potomac, ^^feade had fixed a line along Pi]>e creek, some 
iiftccn miles southenst of Gettysburg, as advantageous ground 
whereon to meet the foe; but an unexpected encounter ]U'eeipi- 
tated the grand collisi(Hi, and brought on the great battle of 
Gettysburg. 

On July 1st Gen. nuf<»i(l niiirchod upon Ocltysburg, wliere 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 207 

he encountered the van of the Confederate army, under Gen. 
Heth, of Hill's corps, and drove them back upon their division, 
by whom our troops were in turn repelled. While Gen. John 
r. Reynolds, in command of two corps, was rapidly coming up, 
and while he went forward to reconnoiter, he fell mortally 
wounded by a Confederate sharpshooter. 

And now began a rapid concentration of forces. The Union 
troops had been greatly outnumbered in the engagement north- 
west of the village July 1st, and w^ere driven into and through 
Gettysburg. They were rallied on Cemetery Hill, just south 
of the village. The Confederates did not press the advantage, 
fearing reinforcements had come, — as indeed they had. 

During the afternoon and night the entire Confederate army 
and the entire Union army, save one corps which arrived on the 
forenoon of the 2d, had been concentrated along the ridges at 
Gettysburg, facing each other at distances of from one to two 
miles. 

The next day, July 2d, was spent in skirmishes and prepara- 
tion for battle, until about three o'clock, when a fierce general 
assault was made upon the front and flank of Sickles's corps, 
who had advanced from one-half to three-fourths of a mile 
nearer the Confederate line than Meade had instructed him to 
do. A desperate struggle ensued, but he was forced back with 
heavy loss to Round Top, which the enemy assailed with great 
vehemence and determination. They at one time had nearly 
carried it, but when reinforcements were thrown upon their 
front, they in turn were driven to the ridge from which Sickles 



208 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

had been expelled, and to which he slioidd not have advanced. 
When night closed on the 2d day of July, the Confederates felt 
encouraged and confident. Their loss, thongh great, was not 
so heavy as ^leade's. 

After several sharp conflicts on Friday, Jnly 3d, there was 
a pause while the enemy was making its disposition of trooi)s 
and posting its batteries for one supreme effort, which was to 
decide the terrible contest. At length, at one o'clock, 115 heavy 
guns from Hill's and Longstreet's front concentered a terrific 
fire u]>on Cemetery Hill, the center and key of the position of 
the Federal army. A little behind the crest of the hill had been 
Meade's headquarters. About 100 Union guns made fit rei)ly 
to the enemy. For two hours the artillery duel waged. Finding 
our guns had become heated, Meade gave orders to cease firing, 
to cool them; and believing that the Union guns had been 
silenced, the enemy's infantry emerged from behind the batter- 
ies, and, moving swiftly forward, supported by the reserves, 
confident of victory, made one determined, desperate and con- 
summate effort to drive the valiant defenders of the Union from 
their stronghold. On they came — Pickett's sjdcndid division, 
the flower and pride of their army, in the lead, in that famous 
but fatal charge. Grape and canister and musket-ball were con- 
centrated upon the advancing foe. Their lines melted away 
like snow before a summer's sun. Tt was a fruith^ss sacrifice. 
They gathered up their broken fragments and retreated in 
defeat. 

Gen. "^feade, though not brilliant and daring in his exploits, 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 



209 



was wise and able. The Confederate batteries were strongly 
posted on Seminary Ridge; his on Cemetery Ridge. He had 
fought a defensive battle and won a decisive victory. Had he 
assailed Lee's batteries, the result might have been different. 
Had Lee assailed Burnside on the heights of Falmouth, he no 
doubt would have met a similar defeat. Burnside chose rather 
to assail Lee's army intrenched in a stronger position than 
Meade's at Gettysburg. 

Meade did not follow the retreating Confederate army im- 
mediately. His ammunition had become scarce. He did not 
know that Lee's was more completely exhausted. Nearly one- 
fourth of his army lay dead or wounded on the field of battle. 
The rest of the army were worn out with the desperate struggle 
during the two-days battle. Only one brigade, standing at ease, 
constituted the reserve, not brought into use. If he had pressed 
liis victory by an immediate attack upon Seminary Ridge, his 
forces might have met a repulse. These are the reasons Meade, 
did not immediately pursue the retreating foe. 

The evolution of events after Meade took command of the 
Army of the Potomac showed that he had made a mistake in 
not bringing the Maryland Heights and Couch's troops from 
Harrisburg, within aiding distance as a general engagement 
became imminent. They were placed at his disposal. With 
French's 11,000 from Maryland Heights and Couch's 15,000 
or 20,000 at Harrisburg, his force would have been sufficient 
to intercept the retreat of Lee, and administer a much more 
crushing punishment upon the Confederate army. 

— 14 



210 TIIK CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

The Union army lost 2,834 killed, 13,709 wonnded, G,G43 
missing (mainly taken prisoners) ; total, 23,1 8G. 

The Confederates lost 22,500 killed and wonnded, besides 
abont G,000 prisoners. 

During the 2d and 3d the eavalry of both armies kept hover- 
ing around the flank of the adversary, with occasional collisions. 
At the close of the battle, Gen. Pleasonton, in command of the 
cavalry, being satisfied of the demoralization of the enemy and 
of the depletion of his ammunition, urged Meade to order a 
general advance. He chose, how^ever, not to do this. On the 
4th an advance division of Gen. Couch's militia, about four 
thousand strong, arrived as reinforcements to the Union army. 

When Meade became convinced that the enemy was in full 
retreat, on the 5th he ordered Gen. Sedgwick's Sixth Corps to 
follow^ on the track of the fugitives. Keinforcements were soon 
sent to the aid of Sedgwick, but he chose rather to hover around 
their rear, watching them, than to bring about a general en- 
gagement. 

Gen. Lee recrossed the Potomac at Falling Water and Will- 
iamsport. Owing to the fact that the weak guard left by Lee 
at these places had been taken by Gen. French, a delay occurred 
in the retreat of Lee's army, which enabled the pursuing forces 
of Meade to overtake them while they were collecting material 
for the reconstruction of the bridge which had been destroyed. 

A council of the corps commanders called by ^Feade to con- 
sider the expediency of an attack ujioii Lee's army, next morn- 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 211 

ing, decided against it bj a vote of three in favor and five against 
it. While Meade agreed with the minority, he did not wish to 
take the responsibility of overruling the majority. The night of 
the 13th, Lee's army crossed the Potomac, and continued its 
march south, with occasional skirmishes between the opposing 
forces. 



CIIAPTEE XVII. 

GRANT'S OVERT.AND CAMPAIGN. 

Lieut. Gen. U. S. Grant in Command of atx the Akmies 
or the J^orth, March 12, 1864. — On the 2l)tli of Fobniary, 
18G4, Congress revived, the grade of Lieutenant-General, a 
rank hitherto accorded only to George Washington (Gen. Scott 
being snch only by brevet), and anthorizing the President to 
assign the officer of tliat rank to command of all the armies of 
the United States. Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, wlio liad 
aeliievcd a series of brilliant victories in the West, was chosen 
to this command, receiving his commission of Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral on the 9th of March following.* On the 10th he visited 
the Army of the Potomac, with headquarters at Brandy Station, 
and after making a flying visit to Sherman in the West to per- 
fect plans for a simnltaneons movement of the armies in the 
West toward Atlanta, and the Army of the Potomac toward 
Richmond, he returned to Brandy Station, and established his 
headcpiarters in the field, instead of at Washington as Ilalleck 
had done. Gen. Meade retained inunediate command of the 
Army of the Potomac, which had been reorganized and consoli- 
(hitcd from five corps into three, commanded respectively by 

*IIe was nominated to tlie rank, Marcli 1, 1864. and assumed com- 
mand of all the armies on the 12th of March. 

(212) 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 213 

Generals Winfield S. Hancock (2d), George S. Warren (5th), 
and John Sedgwick (6th). It was stationed in the vicinity of 
Cnlpeper Court House; while Lee's Army of ^N'orthern Vir- 
ginia was posted along the Raj^idan from Barnett's Ford to 
Morton's Ford, a distance of eighteen or twenty miles. Gen. 
Burnside, commanding the Ninth Corps in Maryland, crossed 
the Potomac and joined Meade's army, though his corps was not 
formally incorporated into the Army of the Potomac until after 
the crossing of the Rapidan. Gen. Halleck was announced as 
relieved from his command at his own request,^ and assigned to 
duty in Washington as ^^ Chief of Staff to the Army." 

On the very day that Sherman set out on his ^^ Great March " 
south. General Grant with an army of more than 100,000 men 
connnenced the ^^ Great Overland Campaign " against General 
Lee and Bichmond. The order for the movement of the army 
was issued May 2d, and the army set in motion at midnight fol- 
lowing, crossing the Rapidan on Lee's right at Germania and 
Ely's Fords. 

The advantage of this movement was found in the fact that it 
established an easy avenue of communications for supplies, 
keeping the army near navigable waters, connected with Wash- 
ington and other depots of supplies. 'No protecting force would 
be necessary to cover these short land routes from rivers to the 
army. The objection consisted in the character of the country to 
the south of the Rapidan, through which the army had to march 
a distance of fifteen or twenty miles, and in which it would be 
obliged to fight the first battle. 



214 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMl'AIGNS. 

Till-: RVTTLK OF THE WlLDEKNESS, MaY 5-G, 1804. TllB 

*' Wilderness/' wliieli is now liistoric, is a tract of broken table- 
land, seamed ^vitll ravines, and covered with forest, and over 
a very large part of its extent was an almost impenetrable under- 
i^TOwtli. Several good roads crossed the Wilderness. Besides 
these there were numerous wood roads, connecting mines, farms, 
main roads, etc. In this lalnrintli, numbers, artillery and cav- 
alry were of little account ; but local knowledge of the ground, 
a conunand of the roads, and advantage of position, were of 
prime importance. 

Gen. Grant had expected, by moving his army at midnight, 
to be able to pass through this wilderness -to the open country 
unmolested. But Lee, alert and vigilant, discovered Grant's 
movement. Moving his army eastward to meet the Union ad- 
vance, he formed his lines of battle in the Wilderness some six 
miles east of his strong defenses on Mine Run, wdiich proffered 
a safe refuge in case of disaster. The battle opened unexpect- 
edly to the Union Generals on the morning of May 5th, and con- 
tinued for two days with persistent and desperate fighting. Gen. 
Lee had intrenched the whole front of his army, behind which 
he was willing to receive an attack but from which he was not 
desirous of advancing. As the battle in the Wilderness was not 
of Grant's choosing, but wholly Lee's, Grant resolved to resume 
his march, and accordingly moved southward, aiming to con- 
centrate his army on the high ground around Spottsylvania 
Court House. 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 215 

The Union losses in this terrible conflict in the Wilderness 
were 2,265 killed, 10,220 wounded, and 2,902 missing. 

On the Union side Gen. James S. Wadsworth was killed, and 
Gens. Hancock (slightly), Getty, Gregg, Owen, Bartlett, Webb 
and Carroll wounded. 

Lee's loss was no doubt considerably less than Grant's, as he 
was fighting on the defensive most of the time, and, in the case 
of Ewell and Hill, well intrenched. ^Nevertheless, their loss 
was severe, as their own estimate, which is the lowest made, 
places it at 8,000. Gens. Sam Jones and Albert G. Jenkins 
were killed. Among the wounded were Gens. Longstreet (dis- 
abled for months), Pickett, Pegram, and Hunter. 

Spottsylvania Court House, May 8-12, 1864. — On the 
evening of May 7th, Grant commenced a night movement to the 
left of Lee, toward Richmond. This brought Lee's army for- 
w^ard. Several sj^irited conflicts resulted in the march south- 
ward between the opposing forces. 

On the 9th the Union troops were concentrated around Spott- 
sylvania Court House, confronted by the Army of INorth Vir- 
ginia under Lee. While placing his guns, and bantering some 
of his men who winced at flying bullets. Gen. Sedgwick was 
instantly killed by a Confederate sharpshooter in a time of com- 
parative quiet. Gen. H. G. Wright succeeded to his command 
next day, when a general engagement took place with no decisive 
results. 

Gen. Grant next morning dispatched to the War Department 
the following pithy bulletin : 



216 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Headquarters in the Field, May 11, 1864 — 8 a. m. 
We liiive now ended the sixth day of heavy lighting. The result to 
this time is much in our favor. 

Our losses have been heavy, as well as those of the enemy. I think 
the loss of the enemy must be greater. 

A\'e have taken 5,000 prisoner by battle, whilst he has taken few from 
us but stragglers. 

I propose to fight it out on this Hue if it tnl'es all summer. 

U. S. Grant, 
Lieutenant-Gcneral Commanding the Armies of the U.S. 

The next day was spent in reconnoitering, skirmishing, and 
getting ready for battle. The afternoon and night were rainy. 
When morning came, the rain gave place to a fog of intense 
density. Under cover of this fog. Gen. Hancock advanced to- 
ward the Confederates in two lines. Before him was a salient 
angle of eartliworks protecting the foe, heliind wliicli Gen. Ed- 
ward Johnson's division of Ewell's corj^s rested. Swiftly and 
noiselessly sweeping over the rugged and wooded space inter- 
vening between the two lines, the Union troops pressed up to 
the very earthworks unobserved. Dashing with a thundering 
cheer over the front and flank of the enemy's works, and sur- 
prising tlie foe in his trenches, they cai)tiired Gen. Edward 
Johnson, Brig. Gen. Geo. II. Stewart, •' and al)()ut 3,000 pris- 
oners, who were sent to the rear. After the Confederates' sur- 
prise was over, and their rally to this point was complete, one of 

*Stewart and Hancock were old army friends before the opening of 
the war. When Stewart was brought before Hancock as a prisoner, the 
latter extended his hand and very cordially inquired, "How are you, 
Stewart?" Stewart haughtily replied, "I am General Stewart, of the 
Confederate Army, and, under the circumstances, I decline to take your 
hand." "And under any other circumstances, General, I should not 
have offered it," w^as the prompt and fit response of the victor. 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 217 

the most remarkable conflicts ever recorded in the annals of 
history ensued. Charge followed charge in rapid succession. 
Five desperate assaults by Lee upon the captured Avorks fol- 
lowedj but without success. The men fought hand-to-hand, with 
their banners planted on opposite sides of the same breastworks. 
Five dreadful assaults by the enemy were all repelled with 
frightful carnage, but Hancock was unable to advance any far- 
ther. Rain set in about noon, but the fighting continued until 
midnight, when Lee's army was withdrawn from the conflict, 
and fortified a line immediately in front of Hancock's. 

The Union army resumed its march next day toward Rich- 
mond. As it moved southward, new bases were established at 
Port Royal, and later at White House, on the York river. The 
base on the north of the Rapidan was abandoned for a new one 
at Fredericksburg, and that at Fredericksburg for the one at 
Port Royal, and this one for the one at White House, as the 
army made successive marches toward Richmond. 

Shekidan^s Raid Toward Richmond, May, 1864. — Gen. 
Sheridan, with the better part of his cavalry led by Merritt, 
Wilson, and Gregg, was on May 9tli dispatched on a raid toward 
Richmond. Moving southward, and destroying railroads, stores, 
and supplies, he met the Confederate cavalry under Gen. J. E. 
B. Stuart at Yellow Tavern, a few miles north of Richmond. 
Gen. Stuart and Brig. Gen. J. B. Gordon were mortally 
wounded, and their force driven toward Ashland, leaving the 
road to Richmond open. The outer works of the Confederate 
capital Avere taken, but the inner works could not be taken with 



218 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

the force at liand ; aiul She ridjiii moved nortli, and again joined 
the Aniiv (jf tlic I'otoiiiac, after an absence of little more than 
two weeks, in season to take part in the bloody battle of Cold 
lIarl)or. 

GexXeual Butler's ^^Iovemknt A(;atnst Richmond in ]\Iav 
AND June, 1804. — Gen. Butler, commanding at Fortress Mon- 
roe, was sent to menace Richmond from that direction, at the 
same time Grant betian Ids Overhind Campaign. Embarkini; 
Ill's infantry and artillery, 25,000 strong, Gen. Butler pro- 
ceeded up the James river, and then passed southward by land 
to within three miles of Petersburg. Gen. Beauregard was 
summoned from Charleston with all the available forces from 
that section, to oppose Gen. Butler's dcMiionstration. News 
from Washington to the effect that Lee could not long withstand 
tlie advance of Grant's vicorious army, led Butler north to par- 
ticipate in the expected speedy capture of Richmond. Gen. 
Beauregard was not long in following the Union army toward 
Richmond, and suddenly made a desperate attack upon it, which 
resulted in a loss of alxuit four thousand men to Gen. T^utler's 
armv, and almost an eijual number to the Confederates. There 
was some fighting along the front of the lines from the iTtli to 
the 21st, with considerable loss on each side, but with no de- 
cisive results. 

North Anna, May 23-20, 1804.— On the 22d of ]\Iay, wliil(> 
Grant was moving his army from Spottsylvania Court House 
south, he ordered Gen. Smith of ]>utler's cominand to bring all 
the available troops, some 10,000 in niunbcr, to join the Army 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 219 

of the Potomac. Gen. Beauregard received from Gen. Lee a 
like order for troops, which Avas complied with. After Butler's 
army had been diminished he settled down to aj3olicj of inaction 
behind intrenchments. 

Gen. Grant's flanking advance from Spottsylvania Court 
House to !N'orth Anna was admirably executed, without any loss. 
But this movement was readily detected from the high ground 
held by Lee, who possessed the best and most direct route to 
Kichmond. Gen. Grant was compelled to make a considerable 
detour eastward, over inferior roads. When the Union army 
reached l^orth Anna river, it found its old antagonist planted 
across the stream in an admirable position, and prepared to dis- 
pute any further advance. Hancock, Warren and Wright ef- 
fected a passage of the river with little difficulty, but Burnside 
was driven back when he attempted to push his corps across the 
river between the right and left wings of the Union army. "Real- 
izi ng that Lee's position , with his left resting on Little river and 
his right protected by a swamp and his front strongly fo rtified, 
was almost impregnable, Grant,^ after deliberate and careful 



*An incident in Grant's march, told by him: "I was seated on the 
porch of a fine plantation house, waiting for Burnside's corps to pass. 
Meade and his staff, besides my own staff, were with me. The lady of 
the house, a Mrs. Tyler, and an elderly lady were present. Burnside, 
seeing me, came up on the porch, his big spurs and saber rattling as he 
walked. He touched his hat politely to the ladies, and said he sup- 
posed they had never seen so many live Yankees before. The elderly 
lady spoke up promptly, saying, 'Oh, yes, I have. Many more.' 
'Where?' said Burnside. 'In Richmond.' Prisoners, of course, was 
understood." 



220 TOE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

rec'onnoissancc, cautiously withdrew his army, May 2(), frctiii 
the front of the enemy's lines, recrossed the river, and, ])nshin,i;- 
eastward for a distance, aii;ain set south for Richmond. Passing 
down to the Pamunkey, which he crossed at Hanovertown, he 
pushed on for the Chickahominy. 

Cold IIaebor, June 1-12, 1804. — Gen. Lee, marching by 
the shorter route, again inti-cnched his army so as to intercept 
the movement southward of the Army of the Potomac. Grant 
had shown his aversion to sacrificing the lives of his men at 
^orth Anna, while another avenue toward Kichmond was open, 
^ow he believed that the great object of the cami)aign required 
him to disregard the advantages of position possessed by the for- 
tified enemy. Gen. W. F. Smith, with 10,000 men detached 
from Butler's command, arrived in the latter part of ^lay, and 
took post on the Union right. Gen. ^leade gave orders for an 
advance with a view to forcing a passage of the Chickahominy. 
On the afternoon of the 2d of June an assault was made upon 
the advance lines of the Confederates, who were driven to their 
second line, which was much stronger than the first. Grant and 
^feade resolved that the Confederate lines should be broken on 
the morrow. 

Before sunrise on June 3d the wlioh^ Union front moved for- 
ward l)ravely, firmly and swiftly to a valiant assanit of tlic 
foe. They were repulsed, however, with terrible slaughter. 
Greeley says : 

"Twenty niinutes after the first sliot was fired, 10,(X)0 of our men 
were stretched writhing on the sod, or still and calm in death; wiiile 



THE AEMY OF THE POTOMAC. 221 

the enemy's loss was little more than 1,000. And when, some hours 
later, orders were sent by Gen. Meade to each corps commander to 
renew the assault at once, without regard to any other, the men simply 
and unanimously refused to obey." 

The total loss at and around Cold Harbor was about 13,000, 
of whom XToFwere killed^ 9,000 wounded, and~about 2,300 
missing. There is no record of the Confederate loss from the 
27th of May to 12th of June, but it is estimated at about three 
or four thousand killed, wounded, and missing. 

Gen. Lee, overestimating the effect of the repulse upon the 
morale of our men, hazarded a night attack upon the hastily 
constructed defenses of the Federal frout, but he was repulsed 
at every point. On the 6th an armistice of two hours, from 
four to six o'clock, was agreed upon for the removal of the 
wounded lying between the armies, and for the burial of the 
dead. 

Grant now decided to cross the Chickahominy far to Lee's 
right, move across the James, and F^tfq^j^^gjllbniond -Frn^^i the 
south. This exposure of the Federal capital to a possible attack 
from Lee met with little favor among authorities at Washington, 
who had a settled and reasonable repugnance to any movement 
that would open the way to Washington. 

The Army of the Potomac was put in motion for the passage 
of the James river on June 12th. 

Gen. Grant's movement from Rapidan to Cold Harbor is 
called '^ The Overland Campaign " in contrast to McClellan's 
movement down the Potomac and Chesapeake two years before. 



222 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

;^^AKCII UPON PETEKSpritci, JuNE, 1804. — Willie Gen. Grant 
was cTossini;' the James, he ordered l^iitler to attempt speedily 
t<» tak(^ l\'terslmrg with the eorps of Gen. Smith, which had 
been returned to him from the Army of the Potomac. It be- 
came known that the^van of Lee's army u nder A. P. Hil l was 
already sonth of Kichmond. 

^Petersbnrg, the head of sloop navigation on the Appomattox 
river, twenty-two miles south of Richmond, is the focus of all 
railroads excepting o ne connecting the Confederate capital with 
the south and soutlnve st. It was poorly defended at this time, 
and could have been taken if^ en. Smith had conducted a vig- 
orous movement agains^t. But inaction and hesitancy per- 
mitted the opportunity to capture the place to pass by. During 
the night of June 15th many of Lee's veterans found rest and 
shelter behind the works. The next day the Confederate Army 
of Virginia had taken refuge in and around Richmond and 
Petersburg, while most of the Army of the Potomac had arrived 
in the vicinity of the same places. 

The desperate struggle for Petersburg had drawn the enemy 
mainly to that city. Gen. Grant, believing that a large i)art of 
the enemy had not yet arrived, ordered a general assault upcai 
Petersburg on the 18th. 

The assault was not a success. The Federal troops were re- 
pulsed with heavy losses and a few prisoners. The enemy, 
sheltered behind their works, bore but light loss. 

It lind iKtw been established that Petersburg couhl not lu^ 
carried bv direct assault, uo nuitlcr what force might be hurU'd 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 223 

against it. From that day the siege of Petersburg and Rich- 
mond was resolved upon, and the regular work of conducting the 
siege was begun. Grant kept Lee constantly occupied in ward- 
ing off his attacks. His cavalry was sent on various expedi- 
tions; one point of line would be threatened, and then another 
attacked. The Confederate chieftain repelled all attempts t<^ 
gain the southern capital. But he witnessed his army wearing 
away from day to day faster than it could be reinforced, while 
the heavy drains upon the Union ranks coul d be replenished b y 
frequent reinforcements. Tn vam did Lee try to break th rough 
the lines of his antagonist, or to divert his attention by raids 
threatening Washington. He only beheld the Union lines press 
closer and firmer around his dwindling and weakening army, 
as it lay intrenched and besieged in the Confederate capital. 

The Mine Explosion, July 30, 1864. — Gen. Burnside's 
corps held a position directly in front of Petersburg, where a 
fort projected in advance of the Confederate lines, and ex- 
tended within 150 yards of the Union lines. Under this fort 
a mine had been run from a convenient ravine within our lines, 
which was entirely screened from the enemy's observation. On 
the 30th of July the mine was fired, annihilating the fort and 
destroying the garrison of 300 men, leaving a gigantic hollow 
of loose earth, 150 by GO feet, and twenty-five or thirty feet 
deep. The Union guns opened all along the front upon the 
astonished enemy, and a strong storming party was ordered to 
press through the gap thus formed. 



224 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Gen. Grant spoaks of tlio iiiiiio affair as follows: 

" Tlicrc liad been some delay on the left and ri^lit in ad- 
vancing, bnt some of the troops did get in and turn to the right 
and left, carrying the rifle-pits as I expected they would do. 

'" There liad heen great consternation in Petersburg, as we 
were well aware, about the rumored mine that w^e were going 
to exphxle. . . . AVe had learned through a deserter who 
had come in that the people had very wild rumors about what 
was going on. They said we had undermined the whole of Pe- 
tersburg ; that they were resting upon a slumbering volcano. I 
somewhat based my calculations upon this state of feeling, and 
expected that when the mine was exploded the troops to the right 
and left would flee in all directions, and that our troops, if they 
moved ]n*omptly, could get in and strengthen themselves before 
the enemy had come to realize the true situation. It was just 
as I expected it would be. We could see the men running with- 
out any apparent object except to get away. It was half an 
hour before mus ketry-firing, to any amount, was opened upon 
our men in the crater. It was an hour before the enemy got 
artillery to play u]^on them, and it was nine o'clock before Lee 
got up reinforcements to help in expelling our troops. 

" The effort was a stupendous failure. It cost us 4,000 men, 
mostly, however, captured, — and all due to the inetficiency on 
the part of the corps commander, and the incompetency of the 
division commander who was sent to lend the assault." 

E.MiiARK'ASSMENTS. — Gcn. Sherman, who was at Atlanta, 
waiitcil icinforcements. ]Te was willing to take the raw troops 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 225 

being raised in the ^ortliAvest. Grant kept watcli that Con- 
federate reinforcements shonld not be sent from Virginia, to 
move against Sherman from his north or east. It Avas feared 
that Gen. Kirby Smith, in command of the trans-Mississippi 
river forces, might also go against Sherman ; bnt a force was 
held ready to hold him in check. In the midst of these embar- 
rassments, Halleck informed Grant that there was an organized 
scheme on foot in the ^orth to resist the draft; he suggested 
that troops might be required to put the rising down, and ad- 
vised him, at the same time, " to take in his sail and not go too 
fast.'' 

Weldon Railroad Taken, August 18, 1864. — While Sher- 
idan was conducting a telling campaign against Earl}^ in the 
Shenandoah Valley, Grant was active before Eichmond and 
Petersburg. He ordered a demonstration against Eichmond on 
the south side of the James, August 14th, to prevent more rein- 
forcements from being sent to Early. The threatening position 
was maintained for a number of days, wdth more or less skir- 
mishing, and some tolerably hard fighting. Instructions had 
been given to prevent anything like a general battle unless there 
should be opportunities for a decided success. 

This demonstration against Eichmond caused Lee to with- 
draw many of his troops from Petersburg. Grant then ordered 
Ge n . Warr en to capture Weld on Eailroad, a road of great im- 
portance to the enemy, as the avenues for bringing Confederate 
supplies to the army were already being much contracted. It 
was evident that the capture and maintenance of this road would 

— 15 



226 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

bring about some desperate fighting. The movement was made 
on the morning of August 18th. After some heavy fighting 
the road was carried, tlie new position fortified, and reinforce- 
ments sent to hold it. Lee made repeated attempts to dislodge 
Warren^s corps, but without success, and with heavy losses. 
The cost to the Union army in the entire movement for the 
possession of the Weldon Railroad was about 4,550 men killed, 
wounded, and missing, most of them prisoners ; while Lee's loss 
was some less than half that number. 

Ream's Station, August 21, 18C4. — Hancock, who had been 
recalled from the north of the James in the demonstration 
against Richmond, moved rapidly toward the Weldon road in 
the rear of Warren. Striking it near Ream's Station, August 
21, he commenced tearing up the road. After having destroyed 
a considerable portion of it, he was vigorously attacked by Hill. 
When night came, Hancock withdrew from Ream's Station. 
His loss was 2,400 (1,700 prisoners) out of 8,000, and IlilFs 
was but little less. 

This disaster did not loosen Warren's hold upon the Weldon 
Railroad. He had made his position impregnable, and Lee was 
compelled to see one of his important lines of communication 
pass from liim. 

This closed the active operations around Richmond for the 
winter. There were frequent skirmishes among the pickets, but 
no serious battle took place between the contending forces until 
the following spring. 



CHAPTEK XVIII. 

SHERIDAN AND EARLY IN THE SHENANDOAH 
YAIjLEY, 1864. 

Sigel's Defeat at Newmarket, May 15, 1.864. — Grant's 
comprehensive j)]an of campaign embraced not only the Over- 
land Campaign, Sherman's March to the Sea, and Butler's 
movement toward Richmond, but the cooperative movements di- 
rected up the Shenandoah and Kanawha valleys. The former 
was under Gen. Sigel, and the latter under Gen. Crook. 

Sigel accordingly moved up the valley on May 1, 1861, with 
10,000 men, and was met near E'ewmarket by a Confederate 
army of equal force under Breckinridge. Sigel's army was de- 
feated with a loss of 700 men, and driven back to Cedar creek, 
near Strasburg. 

Gen. Crook moved from Charlestown, with a force of about 
eight thousand men, at the same time Sigel left Winchester; 
but -by dividing his forces he was compelled to retreat from the 
enemy, and missed an opportunity to strike a telling blow 
against him. 

Gen. Grant relieved Sigel of command, and named Gen. 
Hunter in his place. The pressure upon Gen. Lee'§ forces led to 
the withdrawal of Breckinridge, with the better part of his 
forces, for the defense of Richmond, while W. E. Jones was 
left in command of the remaining forces. 

(227) 



228 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

March on" Lynchburg, June 18, 1864. — The two armies 
met at Piedmont. Jones was killed, his army routed, and about 
fifteen hundred prisoners taken, and 3,000 small arms. Hunter 
advanced to Staunton, where he was reinforced by Crook and 
Averill, bringing his numbers up to 20,000 men. 

Hunter w^as ordered to cross the Blue Ridge and take Lynch- 
burg, the chief city in the western part of Virginia, situated 
in a rich and populous region. It was of great importance to 
the Confederates, as it had at that time extensive manufactories, 
w^as located on the James river and canal, and in unbroken rail- 
road communication with Richmond and Petersburg on the one 
hand and the farther South on the other. Gen. Lee dispatched 
a considerable force from Richmond under Gen. Early to the 
relief of the city. Early arrived at Lynchburg the day before 
the attack was commenced, June 18th. Hunter's ammunition 
ran low, while great numbers were rallying to overwhelm him ; 
he had no choice but to retreat, closely pursued as far as 
Salem. Hunter marched north into West Virginia, over an 
exhausted and desolated region, living on the country as he w^nt. 
The loss of horses and the suffering of his men w^ere great. • He 
was compelled to make a circuitous and harassing movement, 
to escape severe punisliment, by w^ay of the Kanaw^ha and Ohio 
rivers, and by Parkersburg and Grafton. This took a long 
time, and rendered his army of no service until its return. 

Eart>y's Movement on Washington, July, 1864. — Hunt- 
er's failure before Lynchburg, followed by his circuitous march 
to return to the contested soil of Virginia, left the Shenandoah 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 229 

Valley in possession of Early, and Washington open to a possi- 
ble raid. Early took advantage of this weakness. Snmmoning 
all the forces he could muster, he marched toward the National 
Capital. 

Gen. Lew Wallace, in command of a small force at Baltimore, 
moved forward in the face of overwdielming numbers, and met 
the enemy at Monocacy. While he did not expect to gain a 
victory, he succeeded in delaying the advance upon Washington. 

Grant, learning of the gravity of the situation, directed 
Meade to dispatch Wright's corps to the relief of Washington. 
The Nineteenth Corps, arriving at Fortress Monroe, on its w^ay 
from Louisiana to reinforce the Army of the Potomac, w^as 
directed to Washington. Both these corps arrived at Washing- 
ton on the 11th, the day on which Early arrived before the city. 
The troops in defense of Washington now numbered 40,000, 
Avhile those of Early, reduced to about 15,000 men, beat a re- 
treat. Gen. Wright pursued feebly through Leesburg and Snick- 
er's Gap to the Shenandoah, where his advance was attacked 
and driven back wdth a loss of 500. Wright retreated to Lees- 
burg, turned his command over to Crook, and returned to Wash- 
ington. 

Grant, deceived by advices that Early was returning to Lynch- 
burg and Richmond, ordered the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps 
to be returned by water to Petersburg, so as to strike a telling 
blow against Lee before Early's return. Crook, who was left 
in command of the depleted forces on the Potomac, moved 
through Harper's Ferry to Winchester, supposing there was 



230 THE CIVIL WAR «Y CAMPAIGNS. 

iintliiiii;- tlii'i-c to sto)) liiiii. Karly luid n<>t i;<»ii(' sontli, 1)ut was 
close at liaiid, and, falliiii>- upon Crook's force, drove liis com- 
mand pell-niell to Martinsburg, with a loss of 1,200 men, Lis 
own loss being much less. 

Early was undisputed master of that region. As he moved 
north, the people of Maryland and southern Pennsylvania were 
thrown into consternation. 

McClausland was sent on a sweeping raid northward. Pass- 
ing through Carlisle, and entering Chand)ersburg, he denumdod 
$100,000 in gold or $500,000 in currency, under penalty of 
conflagration. The money not being instantly produced, the 
town Avas fired, and two-thirds of it destroyed. 

The Sixth and Nineteenth Corps, which had proceeded no 
farther south than Georgetown, were recalled from their south- 
ern destination and sent to Harper's Ferry, where they joine*! 
Crook Avitli part of Hunter's long-expected infantry on the very 
day Chambersburg was burned. The whole force started in a 
delusive pursuit of Early's army. 

SjIEKIDAN in CoaiMAND IN THE SlIENANDOAII, AuGUST 7, 

1804. — News of the disaster to the Union cause lead to the ap- 
pointment of Maj. Gen. Philip II. Sheridan to operate against 
tlie invading forces. He was placed in command of the newly 
organized ''' Middle J)e})artm('nt," composed of the late (]e])art- 
ments of West Virginia, Washington, and Susipiehanna, and 
two divisions of cavalry which were sent to him by Grant. 

Sheridan's whole force now nund)ered about e»0,000 men, and 
Early confronted Him with about 20,000. 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 231 

Grant informs ns that when Sheridan was appointed (Au- 
gust 7, 1861) to the new command, but two words of instruction 
were necessary. They were, ^^ Go in " — and Sheridan went in. 

Sheridan met Early Sept. 13, at the crossing of Opequan 
creek. The enemy was strongly posted behind his fortifications, 
but his forces were separated, having sent two divisions to Mar- 
tinsburg for the destruction of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. 
A well-planned and vigorous assault upon the Confederates 
drove them in utter rout through Winchester. The Union loss 
in this battle w^as fully 3,000, while the foe lost 3,000 in pris- 
oners alone. 

Early fell back to Fisher's Hill, eight miles south of Win- 
chester, taking post in wdiat was regarded as the very strongest 
position in the valley. Pursuing closely, Sheridan attacked him 
two days later, and gained a more decisive victory than at Ope- 
quan. His loss was light, while that of the enemy was more 
severe, — 1,100 prisoners and 16 guns were taken. The pursuit 
was so sharp that Early was compelled to leave the valley and 
take to the mountains. Sheridan pursued him as far as Staun- 
ton, and swept the valley on his return pursuant to the instruc- 
tions addressed by Gen. Grant to Gen. Hunter on August 5th. 

Sweeping the Shenandoah Valley, September and Oc- 
tober, 1864. — All the grain and forage not already appropri- 
ated to the needs of one or the other of the armies which fre- 
quently chased up and down the fertile valley, were gathered 
up, or, with the barns and mills which held them, consigned to 
the torch. 



232 THE nvIL WAR JJY CAMrAIGNS. 

TIic following' is an extract from the report sent by Gen. Sher- 
idan to (Jen. Grant: 

"Woodstock, Va., Oct. 7, 1864—9 p. m. 

"Lt.Gni. U.S.Grant: ... I have destroyed over 2,000 barns 
filled with wheat and hay and farming implements, over 70 mills filled 
vs'ith flonr and wheat; have driven in front of the army over 4,000 head 
of stock, and have killed and issued to the troops not less than 3,000 
sheep. 

"This destruction embraces the Luray valley and Little Fort valley, 
as well as the main valley. 

"A large number of horses have been obtained, a proper estimate of 
which I cannot now make. 

" Lt. John K. Meigs, my engineering oflficer, was murdered beyond 
Harrisonburg, near Dayton. For this atrocious act, all the houses within 
an area of five miles were burned. 

" Since I came into the valley from Harper's Ferry, every train, every 
small party and every straggler has been bushwhacked by the people ; 
many of whom have protection papers from commanders wiio have been 
hitherto in that valley. 

" The people here are getting sick of the war. Heretofore, they have 
been living in great abundance. ..." 

The excuse for the devastation of the valley was the certainty 
that whatever was left there would be used to feed the enemy's 
armies and facilitate raids and incursions on the Union posts. 
The Confederates had established a precedent in the burning of 
(Miand)('i-sl)uri>". They threatened to burn Kew York city after 
Sheridan's raid tlirough the Shenandoah Valley. In fact, the 
atrocity was actually attempted a few weeks later. Emissaries 
were stationed throughout the city, who simultaneously set lire 
to tlie large hotels wherein they had taken lodgings. Each fire 
was quickly extinguished, after but little damage had been done. 

Battle of Cedar Cijkek, October 19, 1804-. — Ixeinforce- 
ments were sent to Earlv. lie advanced d«»wn llie valley, and 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 233 

thoroughly organized his forces in the forest-screened camp near 
Fisher's Hill. Sheridan had been summoned to Washington. 
When Early became aware of his adversary's absence, he de- 
cided to attempt to retrieve his shattered fortunes. Issuing 
from his camp at night, his army moved over rugged paths, 
climbing up and down steep hills, over almost impassable ground, 
with canteens left in camp lest they should clatter against their 
muskets and make a noise. Early suddenly and unexpectedly 
fell upon the Union forces in camp at Cedar Creek at the dawn 
of October 19th. All was amazement and confusion in the 
Union ranks. The attack was furious. The enemy swept over 
the defenses, arid after a brief but ineffectual resistance Sher- 
idan's troops were put to flight. Gen. Wright, who was in tem- 
porary command, made great effort to stem the ebbing tide, and 
eventually succeeded in arresting the retreat of most of his men. 
Sheridan, having left Washington on the 18th, reached Win- 
chester that night. The next morning, as he started to join his 
command, ominous sounds of battle were wafted to his ears, 
and men came running from the front in panic, telling the story 
of disaster. Sending the cavalry at Winchester across the val- 
ley to stop the stragglers, he at once hastened to the scene of 
action, and addressed the fugitives as he met them : '^ Face the 
other way, boys ! We are going back to our camps ! We are 
going to lick them out of their boots ! " Confidence was re- 
stored. The flight was ended. Intrenchments were erected, and 
the army placed in position. A furious assault was made by 
the Confederates, but they were repulsed by one o'clock. At 



234 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMrAIGNS. 

three o'clock the order was ^iven to the Union tnM»ps, " The en- 
tire line a(lv;nic(\" On tliey went in a (h'terniined ehariic n])nn 
the hitherto exultant foe, driving them back over the ground 
they had gained, in great disorder and utter rout. The famished 
infantry sank down in their recovered quarters to shiver through 
the night, as the rations and cooks that were there in the morn- 
ing had long since paid tribute to the enemy, or found shelter 
in Winchester. 

The Union loss w^as about three thousand in the double battle. 
The Confederate loss w^as heavier, including 1,500 prisoners, 
23 guns (not counting 23 guns lost by the Federals in the morn- 
ing, and recovered at night), besides small arms, Avagons, etc. 

This battle practically closed the campaign in the Shenan- 
doah Valley. Several small cavalry skirmishes occurred after 
this. Early's army was practically destroyed. He had lost, as 
Sheridan says, more men killed, wounded and captured, than 
he (Sheridan) had commanded from first to last. What re- 
mained of Early's forces, w^ith the exception of one division of 
infantry and a little cavalry, was sent to Richmond. After the 
witlidrawal of the Confederate forces most of the Union troops 
were sent to reinforce the army of the Potomac. 

This victory, snatched from the jaws of defeat, affords one of 
the rare instances in which an army thoroughly defeated in the 
morning is more thoroughly victorious in the evening, being re- 
inforced in the meantime by a single man. 

Tlic l)attle of Cedar Creek has been dcilicajcd to all lovers of 
poetry, in the popular ]ior'ni, " Sheridan's ludc," l)y Thomas 
Buchanan Read. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

PEACE COMMISSIONS, AND SURRENDER OF liEE. 

Peace Commissions of July, 1864. — Two imsiiccessfiil ef- 
forts were made during July, 1864, to open the door to the 
termination of hostilities between the Xorth and the South. 
One of these originated with certain Confederates, then in 
Canada, viz. : Messrs. Clement C. Clay, of iVlabama ; James P. 
Holcombe, of Virginia ; and Geo. ]^. Sanders. They agreed to 
proceed to Washington in the interests of peace, if full protec- 
tion were guaranteed them. Horace Greeley was appointed a 
commissioner to go to Niagara to meet the gentlemen, and in- 
augurate proceedings which might lead to the restoration of 
peace, the abandonment of slavery, and the preservation of the 
whole Union. Xothing, however, came of the interview. 

Another irregular and wholly clandestine negotiation had 
been at the same time in progress at Richmond, with similar 
results. Rev. Col. James F. Jaques, Seventy-third Illinois, with 
Mr. J. R. Gilmore, of 'New York, had, with President Lincoln's 
knowledge but not with his formal permission, j^aid a visit to 
Richmond on a peace errand. A long, familiar and earnest 
discussion occurred between these men and President Davis. 
The Confederate chief presented his ultimatum, which, after 
stating that he had tried to avert war, read as follows : " War 
came; and now it must go on until the last man of this gener- 

(335) 



236 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

atioii fiill.s in his trucks and liis cliildrcn seize liis ninski't and 
fight (Uir liattle, luilc^s you (icl'iiou'lrdge our rirjlii lo sclf- 
(jorcrnnicnt. We are not fi</]tlin(/ for slaceitj. We are fir/htinfj 
for iiide/jcndcncr ; and that or exterrnination we will have." 

The knuw ledge of the fact that the South was fighting not 
only against the abolition of slavery but against the Union, was 
worth a great deal to the Union cause in the INTorth. Factions 
hitherto opposed to the continuation of the war were by tliis 
proclamation rallied to the support of a vigorous prosecution 
of war measures. 

» Hampton Roads Peace Commission, Febbfatjy, 1805. — 
Xegotiations for the termination of hostilities were again set on 
foot, in February, 1865. Alexander 11. Stephens, Vice-Presi- 
dent of the Confederate States ; Jolm A. Camp])ell, Assistant 
Secretary of War; and Robert M. T. Hunter, a Confederate Sen- 
ator from Virginia, were permitted to pass Grant's lines before 
Petersburg, and proceeded to Fortress Monroe. They were met 
by Secretary Seward and President Lincoln. But as the com- 
missioners were not authorized to concede the reunion of the 
States, and as the President would not treat on any other basis, 
tlie meeting was of short duration, and the parties separated 
witliout accom])lisliing anytliiiig. 

The Confkdkrate Gloom, and Dkspaik. — Tlie winter after 
the departure of the Peace (\iiiiniissi(»n was spent in compara- 
tive quiet. It was one of gloom and despair to the Conf(^d(M'ate< 
as they beheld their own nnmlx-rs diminish in spile of vwvy 
effort to increase them, and witnessed their adversaries tighten- 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 237 

ing their hold, which would inevitably crush them. Their deser- 
tions were numerous^ not only among those who were with Lee 
around Richmond, but throughout the whole Confederac3^ At 
the eleventh hour they attempted to recruit their depleted ranks 
by freeing and arming such slaves only as were deemed fit for 
military service. They had already conscripted all able-bodied 
men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. Now they 
passed a law conscripting the boys from fourteen to eighteen, 
calling them junior reserves, and the men from forty-five to 
sixty, calling them senior reserves.* 

South of Lee was Sherman, moving with unimpeded progress. 
West of him was Stoneman^s cavalry division, and Thomas with 
his victorious army w^hich had overwhelmed Hood. North of 
him was Sheridan with 10,000 cavalry at Winchester, ready 
to destroy the remnant of Early's force. And in his front stood 
Gen. Grant w^itli a force outnumbering his two to one, and 
ready to lock him in the embrace of death. The number of 
Confederate desertions indicated that they had lost hope and 
had become desj)ondent. Many in the South were making ap- 
plication to be sent North, where they might find employment 
until the war was over, when they would return to their 
Southern homes. 

Sheridan Opens the Campaign, March, 1865. — Setting 
out from Winchester on the 27th of February, Sheridan began 



*Gen. Butler, in. alluding to their conscription, remarked that they 
were thus " robbing the cradle and the grave," 



238 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

a magnificent cavalry raid, aimed at Lyne1d)iirg and tlie enemy's 
cnmmunications generally. His instructions from Grant left 
liim the liberty of joining Sherman to the south, or uniting 
with the Army of the Potomac, as conditions might arise. Pass- 
ing down through Staunton with a force of 10,000 mounted 
men, on ^Fareh 2d he fell npon Early at the head of some 2,500 
men intrenched at Waynesboro. His force was almost instantly 
routed, and 1,000 prisoners taken. In fact, there was little 
left of Early's force excepting himself, who, perceiving the drift 
of the battle, absented himself, and found refuge in some of the 
neighboring houses or in the woods. This was Early's last ap- 
])earance in public life. 

Lynchburg had taken the warning, and received reinforce- 
iiK^uts. While the continuous spring rains flooded the streams 
so as to make tliem unfordable with pontoon trains, Sheridan 
destroyed the James river canal, and tore up the Lvnchburg 
Kailroad as far west as Amherst Court House. Some 2,000 
negroes had joined his command, assisting considerably in the 
tearing-up of the railroad and in the work of destroying the 
eanal. Passing through Columbia, he reached White House on 
^farch 19 ; and after resting here, he passed down to the James, 
and reported to Gen. Grant for orders before Petersburg on the 
2Tth, in time to take part in the reduction of the Confederate 
capital. 

Lef/s Attack upon Fort Stedman, MARcir 25, 1805. — 
Fdi-csecing the speedy downfall of the Confedcnitc cMusr, unless 
a ttjlling blow should lie sli'uek against some pari <•! the eneir- 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 239 

cling armies, and an avenue of escape opened, Lee resolved to 
anticipate Grant's initiative movement by an attack upon the 
Union lines. This attack was made upon Fort Stedman, nearly 
east of Petersburg, where its success would have probably cut 
Grant's army in two, and opened a door for a successful with- 
drawal of the Confederate army southward by the most direct 
route, to unite with Johnston, in an endeavor to overpower 
Sherman. 

The assault was made by Gen. John B. Gordon, early on the 
morning of March 25th, and Fort Stedman with three contig- 
uous batteries was taken by surprise. The 20,000 men whom 
Lee had massed in the rear as support had failed to respond 
promptly, for some cause, and the forts were promptly retaken, 
and all the Confederate troops who entered them, about 4,000 
in number, were taken prisoners. In short, it was the " Mine 
Explosion '' repeated, with points of disaster reversed. Aside 
from prisoners, the loss to each side was about 2,500. Gen. 
Meade, perceiving the depleted ranks of the enemy in his front, 
in a spirited attack captured the strongly intrenched picket line. 
Lee thus, instead of freeing himself from Grant's grip, had 
only tightened it by his assault. 

Five Forks, April 1, 1865. — Grant prepared arrangements 
for a final campaign, which resulted in the capture of Lee's 
army. The determined advance was commenced by the Union 
left on the 29th of March. To the flanking of the enemy's right 
was now imposed the additional task of intercepting and pre- 
cluding Lee's withdrawal to ISTorth Carolina. Hence, the strat- 



240 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

ogy of making a simultaneous attack njxm tlio riglit and left 
flanks of the enemy was abandoned, and three divisions of the 
iVrniy of the James were withdrawn from the bank of the James 
river, where they had so long menaced Richmond, and were 
brought over to join the troops facing Petersburg. 

Gen. Lee, alive to his peril, left some eight thousand men 
under Louiistreet to protect the works at Richmond, and hastily 
withdrew the rest of his infantry through rain and mire, to the 
support of his endangered right. 

Gen. Sheridan, in command of the cavalry, held the extreme 
Union left, near Five Forks. Gen. Warren was ordered to 
support the cavalry, and placed under Sheridan's command. 
Sheridan succeeded in advancing up to a point from which he 
planned to make an assault upon Five Forks by the middle of 
the afternoon of April 1st. Warren was slow in moving his 
troops. Sheridan sent messenger after messenger, directing that 
officer to report to him. Finally he went himself in search of 
him, but could not find him. Sheridan then issued an order 
relieving Warren of the command and placing Gen. Griffin in 
charge of his corps. The troops were then brought up, and the 
assault was made in brilliant order, completely demolishing the 
enemy's right, and forcing him in great disorder from the 
field. About four thousand prisoners, many small arms and 
some artillery fell into Sheridan's hands, while he lost during 
tlie day about one thousand men. 

Grant says: "Here a des])erate hand-to-hand c<^nflict took 
place. The men of the two sides were too close to tire, but used 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 241 

their guns as ckibs. ... Lee's losses mnst have been fear- 
ful. In one place a tree eighteen inches in diameter was cut 
down by musket-balls. All the trees between the lines were 
very much cut to pieces by the artillery and musketry. It was 
three o'clock in the morning before the fighting ceased. Some 
of our troops had been under fire twenty hours." 

Battle of Petersburg, and ABAKDOiirMENT of Riciimoj^d. 
Grant ordered the guns opened upon the works of Petersburg 
from right to left, even though darkness had already fallen 
upon the scene. The lurid light and the roaring sound pro- 
claimed the signal victory just achieved, and predicted more 
decisive triumphs near at hand. The next morning (Sunday, 
April 2d) the outer works of Petersburg were carried. Lee 
made frantic efforts to recover his lost ground, but was repulsed 
with heavy loss. Gen. A. P. Hill, the hero of many a Confed- 
erate battle, was mortally wounded while reconnoitering during 
the day. Though Petersburg was still in his possession, Lee 
saw he could not hold it much longer. His losses had exceeded 
10,000 men. To hold out any longer was to insure the capture 
or destruction of his entire army. 

At 10:30 A. M. he telegraphed to Jefferson Davis in Rich- 
mond these woi*ds: 

" My lines are broken in three places. Richmond must be 
evacuated this evening." 

The message found Mr. Davis, at 11 a. m., in church. It 
was handed him amid awful silence. He read it, and immedi- 
ately went quietly and soberly out — never, never to return as 

— 16 






242 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

President of the Confederacy. ISTot a word was spoken, but the 
whole assemblage fejt that the inissi\x^ contained words of 
doom. 

The news of the impending crisis soon passed from lip to lip. 
The calm and peaceful Sabbath day was soon changed into one 
of clamor and excitement. " Suddenly, as if by magic, the 
streets became filled by men, wulLiwu im it^iiii^li,i:iii c^ n^Qxyor and 
behind them excited negroes with trunks and luggage of every 
description.'' Hundreds of thousands of dollars of Confed- 
erate money Avere destroyed. Hundreds of barrels of liquor 
were rolled into the street, and the ends knocked in, flooding the 
streets with the fiery liquid. Gen. Ewell ordered the four prin- 
cipal tobacco warehouses to be fired. The flames spread to other 
parts of the city. Pollard vividly depicts the scene4b«t f Slewed, 

"Morning broke upon a scene such as those who witnessed it can 
never forget. Tlie i ' 0»i o f un - i t iiinGnGO oonflagiatiun mjluiJhQ in (heir 
©araWtongues of flame leaped from street to street ;> 4md iti'i . W liWI^Ffin 
glfiTP \vf^'Tj^|_ 1 m nf drmnnn, thr figures of bus}' plunderers, 

moving, pushing, rioting, through the bhick smoke, and into the open 
street, be a ring asvuy e vei^ i :! P"nccivab]G oort^^ pk i iid er. 

'^'T^^ rn mrt-t^n n,^yrrfni1i^» *:S^S±m^xry^'-^^*4^^ Li.^o. Uc^ <i ^ 1i 1' i J - 

ftaiLd dunuHtTtifUJ. Hundreds of government wagons were loaded with 
bacon, Hour, and whisky, and driven off in hot haste to join the retreat- 
ing army. Thronging about the depot xyerejumdreds of men, women 
and children, black and white, p^**4triV^on -JA^^ith 'im**''^^****-^^^;^^ baskets, 
tubs, buckets, tin jnins, and aprons; cursing, pushing, and crowding; 
awaiting the throwing open of the doors and the order for each to help 
himself. 

*'About,,iiiiiujL&ti the -dTjfiTi? ~vere ojiened ^^-lF*Si iiiijiii^iii i and a rush 
that alinost seHiin il i > r;iti\ tjie ])uilding off of its fonndntions was 
made, and hundrods of thousands of pounds of bacon, tl(Mir,e(c.. were 
soon swept away by the clamorous crowd." 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 243 

On Mo nday morning the Union troops occupied the c ity, nn- 
resisted by anx-ipi'ce. The^ fire was exting uished _as_soon as 
possible, but not nntil it had bur ned the vei-y hea rt of Richmond. 
The loss mus t have been millions, as fully one-th ird of the city 
was consumed. Libby Prison and Castle Thunder remained 
un harmed. "^mO ^ ' 

- About one thousand prisoners were taken, besides 5,000 sick 
and wounded who were left in the hospitals. 

Petersburg was of course abandoned simultaneously witli 
Richmond. l^o explosions nor conflagrations attended the 
abandonment of this city. So noiselessly was it done, that the 
Union pickets within a stone's-throw knew not that the enemy 
was making the move. 

The Retreat of Lee. — Lee hoped to be able to escape, form 
a junction with Gen. Johnston, and crush Sherman's army 
before reinforcements could arrive. 

The once formidable Army of Virginia, now reduced by 
desertions and heavy losses, mainly in prisoners, to 35,000 men, 
was concentrated at Chesterfield Court House, and then moved 
rapidly westward to Amelia Court House, where Lee expected 
supplies which he had previously ordered to that place for his 
famishing army. They were destined to meet with disappoint- 
ment here, as an order from Richmond summoned the train to 
that city to aid in bringing away the fugitives ; and it was taken 
without imloading the supplies intended for the army. Gen. 
Grant was soon in pursuit of the retreating Confederate army. 
Sheridan's cavalry, striving to head off the flight of the fugitives, 



244 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

formed the van of the pursuing forces. The rest of Grant's 
army foHowed in ch:)se jnirsuit, moving in paralk'l lines witli 
Lee's army to the south of it, attacking vigorously whenever any 
portion of the hostile forces came within fighting distance. 
Some of these engagements were sharply contested, and, as the 
men fought without breastworks, the losses were heavy. The 
seventy miles from Kichmond to Appomattox was a long trail 
of blood. There were collisions at Jetersville, Deatonsville, 
Deep creek, Sailor's creek, Paine's Crossroads, and Farmville. 
The most important of these Avas at Sailor's creek, a small trib- 
utary of the Appomattox running northward into it, where Cus- 
ter, supported by Crook, broke through the Confederate lines, 
capturing 400 wagons, 16 guns, and many prisoners. 

Ewell's corps, following the train, were thus cut oif from the 
rest of Lee's army, and were held in check until the arrival of 
the "Union Sixth Corps, Avhen a deadly fire was opened upon 
them. Ewell's veterans, thus inclosed between the cavalry and 
the Sixth Corps, without a chance of escape, threw down their 
arms and surrendered. Seven thousand men w^ere made prison- 
ers, among whom were Ewell himself and four otlier generals. 

SuituENDEii OF Lee, at ArroMATTOX Coukt ITofse, Apktl 
9, 180.5. — Tlic remaiuder of the army continued its retreat dur- 
ing the niglit of the Gth, and renelied Farmville early on the 
morning of the 7th, where they obtained two days' rations, and 
stopped to rest and prepare their food. The approach of the 
Federal troops, near noon, again set the Confederates in motion 
in a vain endeavor to escape the inevitable fate awaiting them. 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 245 

Arriving at Appomattox Court House, April 9tli, a week from 
the day thej had set out from Richmond, they found Sheridan's 
dismounted cavalry across their paths, and the four trains of 
supplies which they had expected had been captured. 

The Army of Virginia, unaware of the presence of the 
Federal infantry, expecting to break through the column of cav- 
alry wliich blocked its way, made its last charge. The re- 
moval of Sherman's cavalry by his orders, after a sharp engage- 
ment, disclosed to the astonished Confederates a solid line of 
blue-coated infantry and glittering steel as Sheridan and his 
troops passed hurriedly around the enemy's left, prepared to 
charge the confused, reeling masses. Hope was changed into 
despair, and the Confederate general, yielding to the fiat of 
fate, sent a white flag waving to Gen. Custer. Hostilities were 
suspended, with the assurance that negotiations for the surren- 
der of the Confederate army were then pending between Gen- 
erals Grant and Lee. 

Grant had first demanded Lee's surrender on the afternoon 
of the Yth, bift Lee refused to consider any terms of surrender 
then. Several notes had been interchanged by them, and on the 
9th the two commanders met in the house of Mr. McLean, where 
the surrender of the Confederate army took place. 

Morale of the Armies. — Of the proud army which defeated 
McDowell at Bull Run, and drove McClellan from before 
Richmond, suffered a backset at Antietam, shattered Burnside's 
hosts at Fredericksburg, triumphed over Hooker at Chancellors- 
ville, valiantly though unsuccessfully met Meade at Gettysburg, 



246 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

and baffled Grant's bounteous resources for a time in the " Over- 
land Campaign " in the Wilderness^ at Spottsylvania, on the 
^N'orth Anna, at Cold Harbor, and before Petersburg and Rich- 
mond, but a mere wreck remained on the day of the final sur- 
render. After the fall of Richmond the morale of the National 
troops had greatly improved, while that of the Confederate 
was more than correspondingly depressed. Each day witnessed 
the depletion of the Confederate ranks on this memorable re- 
treat. When Lee finally surrendered at Appomattox, there were 
only 28,356 men left to be paroled. Of this number not more 
than 10,000 were able to carry their arms on this hopeless and 
almost foodless flight. Nineteen thousand one hundred and 
thirty-two Confederates were captured from March 29th up to 
the date of the surrender at Appomattox, which does not include 
the great number of killed, wounded and missing during the 
series of conflicts which marked the headlong and disastrous 
flight of the foe. The number of cannon taken between these 
two dates, including those at AiDpomattox, was recorded at 689. 

Geant's Geneeous Terms. — In accordance With the terms 
of surrender, the officers were required to give their individual 
paroles not again to take up arms against the Government of 
the United States until properly exchanged ; and each company 
and [Regimental commander signed a like parole for the men of 
their^ commands. The arms, artillery and public property were 
to be packed, stacked, and turned over to the proper officers. 
Officers were permitted to retain their side-arms. Each soldier 
claiming a horse was permitted to " take it home, to be used for 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 247 

plowing." The starving Confederates were immediately fed by 
their captors. Each officer and man was permitted to return to 
his home, not to be disturbed by the United States authority so 
long as he observed the parole and the laws in force where he 
might reside. 

The exceeding generosity of these terms to an army which 
had fought so stubbornly against its adversary, was a surprise 
to many who remembered the " unconditional surrender '' at 
Fort Donelson and at Vicksburg. Grant's behavior was marked 
by a desire to spare the feelings of his great opponent. There 
was no theatrical display. His troops were not paraded with 
banners flying and bands playing. The humiliated and defeated 
troops were not marched before the lines of their captors to 
stack arms. He did not demand Lee's sword, as was customary 
on such occasions. Cheering, the firing of salutes, and other 
demonstrations of exultation over the victory, were promptly 
stopped. 

Even Pollard, the Southern historian, in " The Lost Cause," 
pays a high tribute of respect to Grant on this occasion, in 
these words : 

"Indeed, this Federal commander, in the closing scenes of the con- 
test, behaved with a magnanimity and decorum that must ever be 
remembered to his credit, even by those who disputed his reputation in 
other respects, and denied his claims to great generalship. He had 
with remarkable facility accorded honorable and liberal terms to a van- 
quished army. He did nothing to dramatize the surrender; he made no 
triumphal entry into Kichmond ; he avoided all those displays so dear 
to the Northern heart; he spared everything that might wound the 
feelings or imply the humiliation of a vanquished foe. There were no 
indecent exultations : no * sensations ' ; no shows : he received the sur- 



248 TUE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

render of his adversary with every courteous recognition due an honor- 
able enemy, and conducted the closing scenes with as much simplicity 
as possible." 

President Lincoln arrived at City Point, March 24th, and 
was in constant communication with Grant from that date until 
the surrender of the Confederate army. He Avas mainly at City 
Point, but, accompanied by Admiral Porter, he went to Gen. 
Weitzel's headquarters, in the house so recently and suddenly 
abandoned by Jefferson Davis. He w^as recognized, and the 
crowd of blacks became so great to welcome and bless their eman- 
cipator, that a military force had to be called to clear a way for 
him through the streets. He repeated his visit to Richmond two 
days later, attended by ]\[rs. Lincoln, Vice-President Johnson, 
and several United States Senators. He returned to Washington 
on the day of Lee's surrender, which was considered the close of 
the war. 

As soon as Lee's surrender became known. Secretary Stanton 
telegraphed an order to the headquarters of every army and de- 
partment, and to every fort and arsenal in the United States, to 
/ fire a salute of 200 cuns in celebration of the event. To Grant 
he dispatched: '^ Thanks be to Almighty God for the great vic- 
tory with whicli He has this day crowned you and the gallant 
armies under your command. The thanks of this department, 
and of the Government, and of the people of the United States — 
their reverence and honor have been deserved — will be rendered 
to you and the brave and gallant officers and soldiers of your 
army for all time." 



CHAPTEE XX. 

OUTSKIKT MOVEMENTS. 

The Civil Wak lasted four years. During this time 2,265 
engagements took place between the Union and Confederate 
troops. These conflicts ranged in importance from the insignifi- 
cant raid, skirmish, or fight, to the decisive battle of Gettysburg, 
in which the loss of life was appalling. The average number of 
engagements for each week from the beginning to the close of 
hostilities was eleven. The total number of battles in which the 
Union loss w^as 100 or more in killed, w^oimded or missing, was 
330. 

In the preceding chapters the more important movements, 
battles, and operations of the main armies, have been described. 
Many outskirt movements were conducted. Only the more im- 
portant can receive even a passing notice, to bring them within 
the compass of this volume. 

Gen. Banks, while in command of "New Orleans, conceived 
the plan of directing an expedition up the Red river, 1864. 
His objects were, the capture of Shreveport and the dispersion 
of Kirby Smith's army. To this end. Admiral Porter, with a 
strong fleet of ironclads, was to embark 10,000 men from Sher- 
man's old army at Vicksburg, under Gen. A. J. Smith, and 
move up the river. Banks was to march overland with 15,000 
men, and meet Smith's force at Alexandria. Gen. Steele was 

(249) 




250 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

to iiinrcli from Little llock to Shrevcport Avitli the bulk of his 
Arkansas troops. 

Port DeRnssy was captured ^Farch 14th ; Alexandria fell on 
the IGth without a struggle. The Union forces pushed their 
way to Sabine Crossroads, with occasional skirmishes, wlien 
their advance was suddenly attacked and precipitately routed 
by Confederate forces nundx'ring not less than 20,000 men, 
under Kirby Smith and Dick Taylor. The Federal loss was 
2,000. The Union troops retreated to Pleasant Hill, where 
they were reinforced. Here the enemy fiercely attacked them 
next day, April 9th, but he was defeated and driven from the 
field. In the whole campaign the Union loss in killed, wounded 
and missing was 5,000; the Confederate loss was less. 

Gen. Banks decided to give up the expedition, and began to 
conduct a retreat. The Shrevcport movement or Red river ex- 
pedition Avas a failure. It had all the promise of success, and 
with its resources and available forces would have succeeded if 
properly managed. On his way back after the victory of Pleas- 
ant Hill, a sharp attack on Banks's rear at Cane river resulted 
in the repulse of the enemy. 

The fleet had proceeded up the river, but the reverse of Sabine 
Crossroads compelled its return. The river, when low, Avould 
not float the larger vessels. The high water of spring was fast 
falling. The vessels ran aground. The fleet was much annoyed 
by the (Confederate shar])sh(K>t('rs and batteries along the shores. 
The attacking foe Avas driven away from the rivci--l>anks with 
some lo§s. The grounded vessels were set afloat with considera- 



OUTSKIRT MOVEMENTS. 251 

ble difficulty. The river had become so low that vessels could 
not pass over the falls below Alexandria. It seemed as if the 
entire fleet would be destroyed. Col. Bailey, an engineer of 
fertile brain, planned the construction of dams, by means of 
which the passage over the falls was made in safety. 

Alexandria was burned by accident on the retreat, but the 
enemy naturally claimed that the city was willfully destroyed 
with a desire for revenge. 

About the time of Banks's advance to Alexandria, Gen. Steele 
left Little Rock, Arkansas, with an army to cooperate in the 
Red river expedition. Banks's disaster had greatly emboldened 
the enemy, and endangered Steele's army. A large number of 
his supply-wagons were taken. When he learned of Banks's 
retreat, Steele began his backward movement. At Marks Mills 
the enemy took a number of his men prisoners. When at Jen- 
kins's Ferry, on the Saline river, a large force under Kirby 
Smith attacked the Union forces, April 30, but met a repulse. 
Steele, after having suffered severely, finally reached Little 
Rock. 

A Union expedition, fitted out at South Carolina by Gen. 
Gillmore, was sent to reclaim Florida. It w^as under the imme- 
diate command of Gen. Truman Seymore. He advanced to 
Jacksonville, Ula., with 600 men, and then to Olustee, where 
he met a disastrous defeat by an enemy much inferior in num- 
bers to his own. This was February 20, 1864. In a short time 
both opposing forces were called to participate in the absorbing 
events around Richmond. 



252 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

An attempt was made in the early part of March, 1864, by 
Gen. Jndson ]vilpatriek at the head of a cavalry force, to pene- 
trate the defenses at Kichmond and liberate the Union prisoners 
confined in Libby prison. Col. Ulrich Dahlgren was killed. 
Much damage was inflicted upon the enemy's railroads and 
bridges, but the attempt to enter Eichmond failed. 

An expedition of 4,000 men against Sabine Pass, La., in 
September, 1863, under Gen. Wm. B. Franklin, aided by gun- 
boats from Farragut's fleet, failed. Two gunboats were disabled 
and captured by the enemy. The rest of the expedition returned 
to Xew Orleans. 

An effort on the part of the Confederates to recover Fort 
Donelson, early in February, 1863, Avas unsuccessful. 

In April, 1803, Col. Streight with about 1,000 men set out 
on a raid into northern Georgia. At Cedar Bluff he was forced 
to surrender to Gen. Forrest in command of a body of cavalry. 

Many of the outskirt movements have been enumerated under 
the chapters on " War in Missouri," " Coast Operations," or in 
connection with the main campaigns. Many others might be 
alluded to here, but the students of history in search of details 
of the minor events are referred to the numerous works prepared 
on a more comprehensive plan than this one. 



CHAPTEE XXI. 

financiaIj measures to provide revenue 
for the civie war. 

Empty Treasury at the Openixg of the Civil War. — 
During President Buchanan's administration, in time of peace, 
the resources of the Government were not sufficient to meet the 
expenditures. The Xational debt increased more than $36,000,- 
000 from July 1st, 1857, to July 1st, 18 GO. Congress had au- 
thorized the issue of Treasury notes to meet the deficit in 
receipts, and on February 5th it authorized the issue of 
$25,000,000 of bonds, bearing interest at 6 per cent., payable 
within not less than ten nor more than twenty years. The Sec- 
retary of the Treasury was able to place only $18,415,000 of 
bonds, and this at an- average discount of 10.97 per cent. 

When Lincoln became President he found an empty treasury, 
the credit^ tlie~lTation gone, and a public debt amounting to 
about $80,000,000, with daily revenues insufficient to meet the 
expenditures. Among the final acts of the Congress which 
closed its session on the 4th of March, 1861, was one which pro- 
vided for a loan of $10,000,000 in bonds, or the issue of a like 
sum in Treasury notes. The President was empowered to issue 
Treasury notes for any part of loans previously authorized but 
not obtained. Under this statute, notes were issued to the 
amount of $12,896,350, payable in sixty days after date, and 

(253) 



254 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

$22,468,100, payable in two years. This was the initial step 
to obtain revenne, aside from regular ineoiues, to meet the ex- 
pemlitnres of the Government, which soon became enormous. 

Power to Eatse ^AFoney. — The Constitution gives Congress 
the power: (1) '^ To levy and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and 
excises "; (2) " To borrow money on the credit of the United 
States"; (3) ^' To apportion taxes among the several States ac- 
cording to their population. '^ 

The chief dependence of the United States for revenue had 
always been upon customs. The expenses of the Government 
during the years 18Go and 18G4 amounted to more than the 
entire expenditures of the Government from its foundation n}) 
to the time of the opening of the Civil War. This enormous 
financial drain taxed the resources of the nation, and called for 
a more varied and comprehensive system of revenue than had 
yet been inanguratecl in our financial system. This system was 
not the product of a single act of legishition, but of a series of 
acts which grew ont of pressing needs of the hour, to meet the 
expenditnres of the Government and for the preservation of 
National credit. It included six sources of revenue, namely: 
Customs duties, internal revenue, non-interest-bearing Treasury 
notes, interest-bearing Treasury notes, bond issues, and the 
National banking system. 

Customs Duties. — Tuk ^Fokkill Tariff. — The ^roi-rill 
tariff went into effect April 1st, 18G1. It was a higli tariff, and 
was a radical change in policy from the tariff laws of 1840 and 



FINANCIAL MEASURES. ' 255 

1857, which were the lowest ever in force. Under the Morrill 
tariff, imposts which had averaged about 19 per cent, on dutiable 
articles and 15 per cent, on the total imports, were changed to 
36 j)er cent, on dutiable articles and to 28' per cent, on total im- 
ports. At the special session of Congress, called by President 
Lincoln July 4, 1861, the schedule of dutiable articles was 
extended, and the rates increased. It became a law August 
5th, 1861. On December 24, as a war measure, the duties on 
tea, coffee and sugar were increased, and the duties were again 
increased by the tariff act of July 14, 1862. 

Non-Inteeest-Bearing Treasuey IsTotes. — These notes in- 
clude the ^^ old demand notes," the '" legal tenders '' or ^' green- 
backs," the " fractional currency," and the '^ National bank 
notes.'' 

" Legae Tenders " or " Geeenbacks." — The law authoriz- 
ing the issue of '^ legal-tender " Treasury notes passed February 
25, 1862. It provided for the issue of $150,000,000 in these 
notes, to be '^ lawful money and legal tender in payment of all 
debts, public and private, except duties on imports and interest 
on bonds and notes of the United States." There was much 
opposition to the legal-tender feature of the bill, but it was 
finally agreed upon on the ground of extreme necessity. The 
bill provided for the exchange of these notes for six-per-cent. 
bonds, redeemable at the pleasure of the United States after 
^ve years. This provision was repealed the next year. The 
smallest note issued under this act was five dollars, but in a 



256 THE CIVIL AVAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

lator act tlic limit was redneoJ to one-dollar notes. The total 
amount nnlliorized to be issued was $450,000,000. 

These notes dei)reciated in value until 'Tuly, 1SG4, when they 
Avere worth only 35 cents on the dollar. They again rose in 
value, but fluctuated from time to time until the passage of the 
specie-resumption act of January, 1875, which provided that 
the legal-tender notes should be redeemed in coin after January 
1, 1879. After the passage of this act they rose to face value, 
because they were interchangeable for gold. The act of 1878 
required that these notes, when redeemed, should be reissued. 
There were $346,681,016 of the legal tenders or greenbacks (a 
name given them from the green color on their backs) in use, 
Oct. 1, 1897. Some discussion has been going on reLative to 
the retirement of these notes. President Mclvinley, in his 
message to Congress in December, 1897, recommended that 
these notes when once redeemed should not be reissued without 
the receipt of gold for them. 

Fkactional Cukkexcy. — The issue of demand notes in 
1861, the evident fact that Congress must continue to issue 
paper money, and the vast expenditures of the Government 
with but a small amount of coin in the country (estiinat(Hl then 
at $210,000,000), led the State banks to suspend specie pay- 
ment, Dec. 30, 1861. The Government was soon forced to a 
similar financial policy. All gold and silver disappeared from 
circulation. The 3, 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents silver-pieces, which 
had been em]^loyed as change, were no longer to be found in use. 
When these passed out of circulation, the people were left with- 



FINANCIAL MEASURES. 257 

out any denominations less than the dollar bill. Xo change 
could be found anywhere. Some kinds of business were almost 
paralyzed. N^ewspapers, car fare, etc., were paid in postage 
stamps and '^ token " pieces of copper and brass that passed as 
cent-pieces. 

Fractional notes were issued by private firms, and various 
expedients were resorted to for the payment of small debts. An 
act was passed July 1, 1862, for the use of postage and other 
stamps in payment of fractional parts of a dollar. The Assistant 
Treasurer made these stamps exchangeable for United States 
.notes, in sums of not less than five dollars. In March, 1863^ 
$50,000,000 of fractional currency was issued, in denominations 
of 5, 10, 25, and 50-cent bills. These notes were reissued by the 
Government as old and worn notes w^ere returned to the Treas- 
ury. 

Since the restoration of fractional silver to the channels of 
commerce, the 5, 10, 25, and 50-cent paper note is as great a 
novelty as the silver change was during the war. 

Demand Xotes. — One of the provisions of the act of July 
17, 1861, authorized the issue of $50,000,000 in notes of not less; 
than ten dollars nor of more than fifty, bearing interest at a 
rate of 3.36 per cent., payable in one year; or they were paya- 
ble ON demand without interest. They were to be exchanged 
for coin, or to be used by the Government in the payment of 
salaries or other dues, and were called demand notes because 
they were redeemable in gold on the demand of the person hold- 
ing them. 

— 17 



258 THE CIV^IL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

Internal Kevenue. — On the first of July, 18G2, the hill " to 
provide internal revenue to support the Government and to pay 
interest on the puhlic deht " was signed by the President. It 
was one of the most complete systems of taxation ever devised 
by any government. Spirituous and malt liquors and tobacco 
were heavily taxed. Manufactures of various kinds were taxed 
3 per cent. Banks, insurance, railroads and telegraph com- 
panies, and in fact all other corj^orations had to pay tribute. 
The butcher paid 30 cents for every beef, 10 cents for every 
hog, and 5 cents for every sheep slaughtered. Carriages, billiard 
tables, yachts, gold and silver ware, and all other articles of 
luxury were taxed. Every profession and calling, except the 
ministry of religion, was included. Almost everything a person 
ate, drank, wore, bought, sold, or owned, was taxed. So com- 
prehensive was the law that thirty printed pages of royal octavo 
and more than 20,000 words were used to express the provisions. 

In 1861 a bill passed, levying a direct tax of $20,000,000 to 
be apportioned among the States, of w^hich sum $12,000,000 
was assigned to the States which did not secede from the 
Union. Each State was allowed 15 ])er cent, for the expense 
of collecting her quota. All the loyal States and Territories 
except Delaware and Colorado assumed the payment of the tax. 

The bill of ISGl, levying a direct tax, provided also for an 
income tax, — the first ever levied by our general Government. 
The tax was 3 per cent, for residents and 5 per cent, for foreign- 
ers on the excess of income over $800. Before this act went into 
effect it was repealed by the act of July 1, 1802, which placed a 



FINANCIAL MEASURES. 259 

tax of 3 per cent, on the excess of $600 up to $10,000, and a tax 
of 5 per cent, on the excess of $10,000. The law went into effect 
in 1863. March 3d, 1865, the law was amended so as to place 
a five-per-cent. tax on incomes np to $5,000 (exemption being 
left at $600), and a ten-per-cent. tax on the excess of $5,000 in- 
come. 

In March, 1867, the exemption was raised to $1,000, and a 
uniform rate of 5 per cent, was substituted for the 5 per cent, 
and 10 per cent, rates. Three years later the exemption of 
$1,000 was increased to $2,000, and the rate was reduced to 2|- 
per cent. This law was passed to continue in effect for one year. 
The last levy under the law was in 1871, and the last tax was 
collected in 1874. 

The income tax collected in the year 1864 was $20,294,733, 
and the total amount collected from 1863 to 1874 inclusive was 
$346,908,740. 

Issuing Boxds. — Bonds are written promises by the Govern- 
ment to pay a specified sum of money to the holder, at the end 
of a certain period of time, with interest at a given rate, payable 
semi-annually or quarterly. Government bonds are -prepsiYed 
and then sold under certain regulations, at the best rates the 
Government can command. 

Bonds have been issued from time to time by the Government 
since its formation, but the Civil War made it necessary to 
issue them in vast sums. They were in denominations of $50, 
$100, $500, $1,000, etc. One billion one hundred and nine 
million dollars' w^orth of bonds were issued between July 1st, 



260 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

1861, and August 31, 1865 (when our debt was greatest), and 
the money was used for war purposes. Most of the bonds issued 
were known as " 5-2 Os." An act was passed authorizing the 
issue of 10-40s, and other denominations; but these were not 
popular, and comparatively few were taken. 

Interest-Bearing Treasury Xotes. — These notes passed 
under various names, depending upon the rate of interest and 
the time for which they were issued. Secretary Chase, making a 
summary of the Treasury operations in 1861, says: '^ There 
were paid to creditors, or exchanged for coin at par, at different 
dates, in July and August, six-per-cent. two-years notes, to the 
amount of $14,019,036. There was borrowed at par in the 
same months, upon sixty-days six-per-cent. notes, the sum of 
$12,877,750; there was borrowed at par, on the 19th of Au- 
gust, imder three-years seven-thirty bonds, $50,000,000." This 
last issue is popularly known as '' seven-thirties." By it certain 
banks furnished $50,000,000 in coin, and received in payment 
three-year notes bearing interest at 7.30 per cent., convertible 
in six-per-cent. twenty-year bonds. By 1866, the whole amount 
of interest-bearing notes was $577,000,000. 

National Banking System. — Another important feature 
of our financial system during the Civil War was the inaugura- 
tion of the National Banking system, which, with little modifi- 
cation, has continued in use to the present. The bill passed in 
February, 1863. Arguments in support of the bill were given 
as follows : The banks would furnish a market for bonds ; they 



FINANCIAL MEASURES. 261 

would absorb the circulation of State banks, and that without 
harsh measures; thev would create a community of interest 
between the stockholders of the banks, the people, and the Gov- 
ernment, where there now existed a great contrariety of opin- 
ions and diversity of interests; adequate safeguards would be 
established against counterfeiting; the currency would be uni- 
form, and take the place of the notes of 1,600 banks, differing in 
style, and whose notes were easily imitated and altered; that 
while the notes of one-sixth of the existing banks had been coun- 
terfeited, 1,861 kinds of imitations were afloat, 3,039 alterations 
extant, in addition to 1,685 spurious notes, in which hardly any 
care had been taken to show any resemblance to the genuine. 

The act of June 3d, 1864, was a substitute for the act of 
February 25, 1863, and provides for a Bureau of Currency in 
the Treasury Department, at the head of which is a Comptroller. 

In the United States Bank, the Government was a large 
stockholder, and the officers of the Treasury practically directed 
the operations of the bank, and sometimes accommodated politi- 
cal friends on easy terms, rendering legitimate banking impossi- 
ble. Under the National Banking system the Government is not 
a shareholder, and takes no part in the management of the banks, 
except to see that the laws controlling them are complied with. 
Under the system of multiform State banks, the notes w^ere of 
varying value at different times and in different places. In the 
disastrous financial influences of the War of 1812, a large ma- 
jority of these banks were w^recked, their notes never redeemed, 
and a great financial loss entailed by the people. Under the 



262 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

present system the bank notes are of uniform value throughout 
the I^ation, and no bill-liolder can suffer loss. 

The circulation of the hanks was at first limited to $354,- 
000,000, and w^as distributed among the States and Territories 
according to wealth and population conjointly. The repeal of 
this provision has made banking free. Any company numbering 
not less than five, with a capital of not less than $50,000, may 
form a banking association. The company must purchase 
United States bonds, and deposit them with the Treasurer of the 
United States. On receipt of these the Treasurer causes to be 
printed for the bank an amount of national bank notes in such 
denominations as the authorities of the bank may name, but the 
amount of notes shall not exceed nine-tenths of the bonds pur- 
chased. The amount varies from GO per cent, when the capital 
stock is $3,000,000 or more, to 90 per cent, when not over half 
a million. The bank receives interest on the bonds it has pur- 
chased, and loans the money printed by the Government as well 
as the deposits of its patrons. It is required to maintain a 
reserve fund in gold and silver coin equal to about 20 per cent, 
of its capital. By this provision the holders of the national 
bank notes may convert them into coin, by presenting them to 
the bank that issued them. It is also required to set apart 10 
per cent, of its profits each year as a surplus fund, until such 
fund is equal to 20 per cent, of the capital stock of the bank. 
This surplus provides a means to make good any losses that may 
occur. 



CHAPTEK XXII. 

COST OF THE lYAR. — NATION AI. DEBT.— 
CLOSING EVENTS. 

Cost of the Wak. — The Xatioxal Debt. — At the close 
of the war the Xational debt was $2,800,000,000 (round num- 
bers). Hundreds of millions of dollars were expended out of 
the revenues of the Government as the war progressed. Besides 
this, the incidental losses were innumerable in kind and incal- 
culable in amount. There were heavy expenditures by the 
States, cities, and towns, amounting to about $458,000,000. 

Other nations have made costlv sacrifices in the struffo'le for 
their existence, or in pursuit of their ambitions ; but none has 
expended, in the same length of time, an amount equal to that 
expended during the Civil War by our Xational Government. 

The amount of the Confederate debt is unknoAvn. It is esti- 
mated that if all the expenditures during the war and debts at 
the close of it, including the destruction of property, could be 
added, Xorth and South, it would be equivalent to the sum rep- 
resenting all values in the United States as they were estimated 
at the beginning of the war. 

The total expenditures of Great Britain during the French 
Revolution and the career of Xapoleon, covering a period of 
twenty-three years, was $4,850,000,000, but the combined ex- 
penditures of any four years did not equal the amount spent by 
the United States in the same length of time. The one grand 

( 263 ) 



264 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

feature of tliis lavish ox})ciulitnre of wealth by our Government 
is, that it was_ directedr an3~BTifof€e4-l>y -the peopl e themselves. 
The fourteenth amendment to the Constitution provides that 
the validity of the public debt shall not be questioned, and on 
the other hand that neither the United States nor any State 
shall pay any debt or obligation that has been incurred in aid of 
insurrection against the United States. The Confederate debt 
was void by the interpretation of this clause, and was so recog- 
nized Xorth and South under the terms of the reconstruction of 
the Southern States. 

Loss OF Life. — Willing as -were the people to contribute of 
their money to the suppression of the Kebellion, still more readily 
did tHey respond to the call to arms. Twelve jcalls were made 
for men during the war; the first, April 15, 1861, the last in 
December, 1864. The term of service varied in different calls, 
from three months in some to three years in others. In the 
loyal States the Government called for more than 2,750,000 
men. Of this number, about 103,000 had not responded when 
the war closed, but about 120,000 " emergency men " were fur- 
nished ly the States at the time of Morgan's raid and during 
the summer of ISOo, which \V(»ul(l make tlie actual innnbcr of 
men in th(^ service greater than the number of men called for. 
This_miniber docs, not represent the number of different indi- 
viduals engaged, as many men enlisted more than onco, and were 
counted each time tlicy enlisted. Tlie greatest innnber of men 
in service at any onetime was in April, J.8i}iiy_wh^n:-4yCUKL516 
were on the muster-r<^l]s, of whom 650^000 were in actual service. 



CLOSING EVENTS. 265 

Of those who gave their lives to preserve the Union, 67,000 
were killed in battle, 43,000 died of wounds, 230,000 of dis- 
ease and other causes ; making a total of about 340,000. 

The number of men enlisting in the Confederate service is 
not knowTi, but it is certain that every available man w^as drafted 
into service who did not voluntarily go. The number killed in 
battle, including those who died .of w^ounds and disease, was 
probably as great as that of the Xorth. 

CArTUKE OF Jefferson Davis. — Jeiferzon Davis took a 
hasty departure from Richmond on Sunday, April 2, as the 
Confederate army began its hasty flight from the doomed city. 
Journeying by rail from Richmond to Danville, he halted at 
this place, set up his government, and issued a stirring procla- 
mation designed to revive the failing spirits of his confederates. 
Astounded at the news of Lee's surrender, his government took 
wdieels and retreated to Greensboro, South Carolina, where an- 
other halt was made. The imminent danger of J ohnston's army 
again set the tottering government of a failing cause in motion, 
— this time in wagons and on horseback, as the railroad south 
had been destroyed. Passing through Salisbury and Charlotte, 
!N^. C, Yorkville and Abbeyville, S. C, to Washington, Ga., the 
officers gradually abandoned the sinking craft, until Mr. Davis 
was attended only by Mr. John H. Reagan (late Confederate 
Postmaster-General), his military staff, and his family. While 
encamped near Irwinsville, Ga., he was surprised on the early 
dawn of May 11th by the Union cavalry, and himself, his wife, 
her sister, and his children, and a small body of escort, were 



266 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

taken prisoners. His family were taken by water to Savannah, 
and there set at liberty. He was taken to Fortress Monroe, and 
kept in confinement for two years. Mr. Davis was indicted for 
treason by a grand jury in the United States court for the dis- 
trict of Virginia, on the 13th of ]\ray, 1867. He was liberated 
on bail in the amount of $100,000. His bondsmen were Cor- 
nelius Yanderbilt, Horace Greeley, and Gerrit Smith — a life- 
long abolitionist. His trial never occurred, and he was included 
in the general amnesty proclamation in 1868. After his dis- 
charge, he became president of a life insurance company in 
Memphis, Tenn. He died in Xew Orleans, Dec. 6, 1889. 

Dkatii of Lixcoln. — The 14th day of April was the fourth 
anniversary of the surrender of Fort Sumter to the Confed- 
erates by Major Anderson. The whole country was aglow with 
rejoicings and congratulations at the overthrow of the Rebellion 
and the return of peace. A large crowd of prominent persons 
had assembled at Fort Sumter to witness the raising of the tat- 
tered flag over the historic site from which it had been lowered 
at the time of the first bombardment of the fort. In the midst 
of these rejoicings a terrible calamity befell the Xation, which 
cast a gloom over the triuni})liant scenes of a closing contest. 

President Lincoln, while seeking relaxation from the many 
weighty cares which he had borne, attended Ford's Theater, in 
Washington. Here he was stealthily approached from the rear, 
and, without word or warning, an assassin placed his pistol 
behind the left ear of the President as he was intent upon tho 
])lav, and fired a mortal shot, l^'csidciit Lincoln liad licld a 



CLOSING EVENTS. 267 

cabinet meeting during the day, and listened to an account of 
the surrender of Lee as it was given by Gen. Grant, who had 
just arrived from Appomattox, and by his own son, Capt. Robt. 
Lincoln, who was on Grant's staff and an eye-witness to the sur- 
render. President Lincoln had invited Gen. Grant and wife to 
accompany himself and wife to the theater, but Gen. Grant 
took his departure from the city during the day to visit his chil- 
dren, who were attending school at Burlington, ^ew Jersey. 
The assassination occurred on the evening of Good Friday, 
April 14. The play was ^^ Our American Cousin.'' 

The name of the assassin was John Wilkes Booth, an actor, 
of Baltimore birth. Being intercepted by Major Rathbone, the 
only other man in the box besides the President, the assassin 
inflicted a serious wound in his arm with a dagger. Bushing 
to the front of the box. Booth exclaimed, " Sic semper tyran- 
nis ! " (So be it always to tyrants.) He placed his hand on the 
railing in the front of the box, and leaped over it on to the corner 
of the stage; but as he jumped, the spur on one of his heels 
caught in an American flag draped across the front of the 
railing, and he fell, spraining his ankle, which greatly impeded 
his flight, and afforded a clue to his pursuers. He was finally 
hunted down by soldiers and shot in a barn in Virginia. 

The dying President was carried to a house across the street, 
w^here he expired the next morning, and Vice-President Andrew 
Johnson became chief executive. Ford's Theater, in which the 
shocking event occurred, has been remodeled in the interior, and 
is now (1899) used by the Government for claim offices of the 



2C8 THE CIVIL WAR KY CAMPAIGNS. 

Pension Departnioiit. Ilic house in which Lincohi died has 
recently been })nrchased l)_v the Xational Government, and both 
buildings are nnmbered among the places of interest which at- 
tract the attention of tourists in Washington. 

The funeral train passed over the same route which Lincoln 
had taken from his home in Springfield, Illinois, to Washing- 
ton, four years before. To the sorrowful crowds that gathered 
at every station, and even along the track in the country, it 
seemed as if the light of the Nation had gone out. He was 
buried amid the mourning of the whole Nation, at Oak Ridge, 
near Springfield, May 4th, where an imposing monument was 
dedicated to his memory in 1874. 

Ilis gentlemanly manner, magnanimity of spirit and purity 
of private life, are an inspiration to the youth of the land. His 
powerful grasp of details, his unerring logic, his perception of 
human nature, and his comprehension of weighty problems 
made him a specially fitted agent of Providence to reign as 
supreme executive during the tumultuous scenes of the Civil 
War. 

MusTKKTXf; Out. — The armies of Sherman and ^Feade, re- 
turning from the field, were brought to Washington for a 
^' Grand Review " by the President and his cabinet. The review 
commenced on the 23d of ]\Iay, and lasted two days. The ]U'o- 
cession passed a grand stand in front of the White House. It 
was an impressive sight, and a fitting close to the, turbulent s"enes 
of the four years of bloody contlict. The city was claborati'ly 
decorated. The streets were crowded with throngs of visitors. 



CLOSING EVENTS. 269 

who had come to witness the scenes of the occasion. The Stars 
and Stripes were weaving from every honse and store. 

The men in the march w^ere well-drilled, well-disciplined and 
orderly soldiers, inured to hardships, and fit for any duty. 
They were well dressed and well fed for army life, but their 
bronzed faces and tattered and smoky battle-flags told the story 
of their past experience. 

Thoughts of the abolition of slavery, the suppression of the 
Rebellion, the preservation of the Union, the " welcome home '' 
of friends and relatives, and the return to peaceful pursuits of 
life, all mingled wdth the shouts and rejoicing of the spectators to 
fill the hearts of the soldiers with ecstatic joy. Grant was there, 
the commander who had never taken a step backward; Farra- 
gut, the hero of New Orleans, w^as there ; the aggressive and un- 
failing Sherman, the patient and adamantine Thomas, the in- 
trepid and genial Hancock, the fiery Sheridan, the brave and 
impulsive Meade, the brilliant Custer, and hosts of others of 
lesser rank but of equal merit, were there. 

Yet amid all of the festivities and rejoicings there was much 
sorrow. Three hundred and forty thousand of those who had 
taken up arms had long since laid them down to join the muster- 
roll of the Eternal One. Nearly every particij^ant had left some 
one forever silent on the field of battle. Many well-known faces 
were missing. John F. Rejmolds, Pennsylvania's valiant and 
patriotic son, who fell in the battle of Gettysburg; the gallant, 
dashing and inimitable Philip H. Kearny, who lost his life while 
penetrating the Confederate lines at Chantilly; the courageous 



270 THE CIVIL WAR BY CAMPAIGNS. 

and sagacious James B. McPherson, who was killed as Hood was 
driven from Atlanta ; the zealous and ^^enerable James S. Wads- 
worth, who gave his life to stem an adverse tide in the battle of 
the Wilderness; the simple, inflexible and intrepid John Sedg- 
wick, who fell a victim to Confederate sharpshooters while he was 
directing the placing of artillery in front of Spottsylvania Court 
House; — these, and many other officers of high rank who were 
left silent on the field of battle, were not permitted to witness 
the exultant close of tlie war, or participate in the final grand 
review. 

Words fail to express the homage due the patriotic leaders 
who gave their services, and some their lives, for the preserva- 
tion of the Union of the States. Xo tribute of respect in honor 
of these men can be too highly colored. They deserve the affec- 
tion of the people and the admiration of posterity for all 
generations. Their names should be reverently held in mem- 
ory, and their deeds should be cherished as a rich legacy to a 
great nation. Xo monuments too costly or too grand can be 
erected in commemoration of their services to their country. 
Their works will shine forth with lustre after shafts of marble 
and granite shall crumble to dust. 

As we pay our highest respects to the distinguished and gal- 
lant men who directed tlie affairs of the Nation and condiu'ted 
the stupendous campaigns of the great Civil War, we must imt 
forget the man who stood behind the gun; ^nd the services he 
rendered. He it is that forever deserves the gratitude of the 
Xation he helped to save. He had to endure the severest hard- 



CONCLUSION. 271 

ships and face the greatest dangers. He had to bear the heat 
and burden of the day, endure long, fatiguing marches, and to 
be exposed to the inclemency of an uncertain and ever-varying 
climate. His first duty was obedience. His place was to the 
front, while the general's was to the rear. He had to do, and 
to dare. He had to face perilous emergencies and impending 
dangers. The private soldier looked into the cannon's mouth 
and faced musket and bayonet, while his general heard them 
only as they sounded their reverberations from the distance as 
the tide of battle swayed back and forth. The private soldier 
stood amid the desolating scenes of rapacious carnage as his 
comrades were falling thick and fast around him, while his 
commander generally stood away from immediate danger to 
view and direct the contending forces arrayed in deadly conflict. 
The private soldier endured all without the expectation of re- 
ward or the hope of immortalizing a name. His spirit was 
suffused with patriotism as fervid as any that ever graced the 
■pages of history, poetry, fiction, or song. His name is legion, 
and though no towering monument marks the place where he 
rests, his valor and devotion to country will consecrate the spot 
as hallowed ground. 

All honor to the gallant and patriotic heroes, both j^rivates and 
officers ! Green be the graves where they sleep. Calm be the 
resting-place of the brave and true. Forgotten be the animosi- 
ties and heartaches of the long and bitter strife. Unsullied be 
the banner they fought to protect, and sacred be the trust com- 
mitted to our hands. 



INDEX. 



Pages. 

Acquia Creek 166, 182 

Adairsville 134 

Alabama 45 

Alexandria 32, 166, 182 

Allatoona Pass 136, 141 

Amelia Court House 243 

Anderson , Fort 162 

Anderson , Robert 29 

Antietam 191-193 

Anti-slavery parties 22-24 

Anti-slavery publications 19-22 

Appomattox Court House 244, 245 

Arlington Heights 33 

Army of-the Cumberland 74, 108, 126, 132 

Army of the Mississippi 74 

Army of the Ohio 74, 108, 132 

Army of the Potomac 165-248 

Army of Southwest Missouri 74 

Army of the Tennessee 74, 132, 143 

Army of Virginia 180, 182, 186 

Athens 143 

Atlanta 136-140 

Averysboro 162 

Bailey, Colonel 251 

Baltimore 31 

Banks, Nathaniel P 101-103, 169, 249 

Bartlett, General 215 

Baton Rouge -. 90 

Beaufort 51, 52 

Beauregard, P. T 29, 33, 76, 77-79, 83,218 

Beecher, Henry Ward 164 

Bell, Captain 87 

Bell, John 24 

— 18 (273) 



274 INDEX. 

Belmont 68 

Bentonville (Ark.) 64 

Bentonville ( N. C.) 162 

Berry, General 201 

Big Black river 99 

Blair, Frank P 149 

Bliss, P. P 142 

Blockade 39 

Blockade-runners 4(» 

Blue Lodges 1" 

Blunt, General •■ 65, 66 

Bonds 259 

Boonville 58 

Bowling Green 69, 73 

Bragg, Braxton 51 , 75, 79, 103-117. 133 

Brandy Station 212 

Breckinridge, John C 23, 90.227 

Brown, John 24, 25 

Brownsville 103 

Bruinsburg 97, 98 

Buckingham 193 

Buckner, General 72, 73, 121, 125 

Buell, 1). C 71, 74, 79, 104-108 

Buford, General 206 

Bull Run 33-35, 59, 183 

Burnside, Ambrose E 51, 52, 125, 193-196, 213. 223 

Butler, Benjamin F 86-89, 161, 218. 222 

Cairo 69 

Call for troops 30 

Canby, General 54, 56 

Carlisle 205 

Carolinas 154 

Carroll , General 215 

Carthage 58 

Casey, General 171 

Cassville 134 

Cavaliers 9 

Cedar lUufT 252 

Cedar Creek 232 

Cedar ^Mountain 1 "^ I 



INDEX. 275 

Cemetery Kidge 207 

Centreville 34, 184 

Chambersburg 205, 230 

Champion Hill 98 

Chancellorsville 197-202 

Chantilly 184 

Charleston 29, 54, 55, 157-160, 164 

Chase, Salmon P r 34 

Chattanooga 79, 104, 118-131 

Chesterfield Court House 243 

Chickamauga 122-124 

City Point 163, 248 

Cold Harbor 220 

Columbia 156 

Columbus 68, 73, 82 

Compromise of 1850 15, 16 

Confederate cruisers 41 

Congress, The 47 

Constitutional Union party 24 

Corinth 74, 77-79, 80, 81 

Corse, General 141 

Cost of war 263 

Couch, General. 206, 209 

Crittenden Compromise 26, 27 

Crittenden, George B 69, 110 

Crook, General 227, 229 

Cullum, General 83 

Cumberland, The 47 

Curtis, S. R 63, 64, 74 

Custer, General 244, 245 

Customs duties 254 

Dahlgren , Admiral 54 

Dalton 133 

Dana, General 103 

Davis, H. C, Commodore 90, 92 

Davis, Jefferson 26, 71, 265 

Davis, Jefferson C 63, 149, 241 

Deatonsville 244 

Demand notes 257 

Department of Northwest Virginia 165 



276 INDEX. 

Department of the Ohio 125 

Department of Washington 165 

DeRussy, Fort 250 

Direct tax 258 

Donelson, Fort 69-74 

Douglas, Stephen A 23 

Douglass, Frederick 20 

Dug Spring 59 

Dupont, S. F 51, 53, 54, 154 

Early, General 228-234 

Elk Horn 64 

Ellet, Colonel 91 

Ellsworth, Colonel 31,32 

Emigrant Aid Society 17 

Ericsson , John 48 

Evvell, General 170, 181, 206, 215, 244 

Fair Oaks 171 

Falmouth 194, 203 

Farmville 244 

Farragut, David 55, 56, 86-89 

Fisher, Fort 160 

Finances • 253 

Five Forks 239 

Florence 144 

Florida, The 43, 44 

Floyd, John B 23, 73 

Foote, Commodore 69, 82 

Forrest, General 105, 143, 252 

Fort Donelson 69, 70, 71, 252 

Fort Henry 69, 70 

Fortress Monroe 46, 166, 218 

Foster, John G 52, 53, 156 

Fractional currency 256 

Frankfort 107 

Franklin 144 

Franklin, William B 168, 252 

Frazier's Farm 177 

Fredericksburg 193-196, 203 

Freedom of slaves 11 



INDEX. 



277 



Free-Soil party 22 

Fremont, John C 23, 59, 61, 170 

French, General 141, 209 

Front Royal 170 

Fugitive slave law 16 

Gaines, Fort 55 

Gaines's Mill 175 

Gardner, General 101-103 

Garfield, James A 69 

Garrison, William Lloyd 20 

Georgia Legislature 152 

Getty, General 215 

Gettysburg 203-211 

Gibbons, General 199 

Gillmore, General 257 

Gillmore, Quincy A 53, 54 

Glendale 177 

Goldsborough, L. M 52, 160, 163 

Gordon, John B 239 

Gordon, J. B. (not General John B. Gordon) 217 

Gordonsville 181 

Grand Gulf 97, 98 

Granger, Gordon 56 

Grant, U. S 68-81, 93-101, 128-132, 163, 212-248 

Great Britain 40, 43 

Greeley , Horace 266 

Greenbacks 255 

Greensboro 163 

Gregg, General 215, 217 

Grierson, B. H 97 

Griffin, General 175 

Guerrilla warfare 64 

Halleck, General 69, 74, 77-81, 121, 128, 205, 213 

Hampton Roads 49 

Hampton , Wade 158 

Hancock, Winfield S 168, 213, 215, 219 

Hanover Court House 168 

Hanson , Colonel 114 

Hardee, General 76, 105, 118, 137. 153, 158 



278 INDEX. 

Harper's Ferry 19^) 

Harpeth river 147 

Harrison Landing 174, 179 

Hawes, Richard 107 

Hazen, General 153 

Heinian, Colonel 71 

Heintzelman, General 177 

Helper, Hinton Rowan 21 

Henry, Fort 69, 70 

Herron , General 65 

Heth, General 207 

Hill, A. P 178, 207, 215, 222, 241 

Hiiulman, Fort 95 

Hindman, General 65 

Hobson , General 115 

Hoke, General 161 

Holly Springs " 93 

Holmes, General 66, 101 

Hood, John R 136-148 

Hooker, J. E 128, 130, 138, 177, 191, 197-202 

Howard, 0.0 138, 149JL63, 198 

Hunter, General 53, 54, 215. 227 

Hurlbut, General 81, 128 

Income tax 258 

Independence 66 

Interest-bearing treasury notes 260 

Internal revenue 258 

Irwinsville 265 

Island No. 10 83, 85 

luka 79, 80 

Jackson, Battle of '. 98 

Jackson, Camp 57 

Jackson, Claiborne F 57 

Jackson, Fort 86 

Jackson, T. J. ( Stonewall ) 169, 181-187, 190, 199 

Jacksonville 53 

Jefferson City 58 

Jenkins, Albert G 215 

Jenkins's Ferry 251 



INDEX. 279 

Jetersville -^4 

Johnston, Albert Sidney 71, 73-77 

Johnson , Edward -16 

Johnston, Joseph E 33-35, 98, 100, 132-136, 156, 164, 167-173 

Jones , Sam 215 

Jones, W. E 227 



Kansas-Nebraska Bill 16-18 

Kearny, Phil 177, 185 

Kearsarge • '^^ 

Kenesaw Mountain 135, 141 

Kentucky, Invasion of 104-117 

Keyes, General 178 

Kilpatrick, Judson 138, 149, 252 

Kingston 134 

Knoxville 125 

Lawrence ( Kan.) 65 

Lee, Fitzhugh 198 

Lee, Kobert E 167, 173-248 

Legal tenders 255 

Lexington (Mo.) 57, 59,61 

Libby Prison 243, 252 

Liberty party 22 

Lincoln, Abraham 23, 27, 31, 39, 43, 153, 163, 165, 248, 253, 266 

Logan's Oross-Roads 69 

Longstreet 121, 122, 178, 215, 240 

Lookout Mountain : 123, 130, 131 

Loss of life. 264 

Louisville 10'5, 106 

Lovejoy, Elijah 20 

Lovell, Mansfield ^6 

Lynchburg 228, 238 

Lyon , General ( Confederate ) l'^7 

Lyon, Nathaniel 57, 58,59 

Macon, Fort ^2 

Magruder, General 166, 178 

Malvern Hill 178 

Manassas Junction 33, 183 

Marietta 13-5 



280 INDEX. 

I\[arks Mills 1>51 

]Marni{idiike. General 58, 66,67 

MarsluiU, (leneral 69 

INlaryland 187 

Maryland Heights 205 

Mason, James Murray 42 

McAllister, Fort 153 

McOall, General 175, 177 

McCaiisland, General 230 

McOlellan, George B 32, 165-193 

IMcOlernand, John A 71,95 

McOook, A. O 107, 137 

IMcCown , General 84 

McCulloch, Colonel 61, 63 

McDowell, Irwin 33, 76. 168, 183 

McLean, Mr 245 

McMinnville 129 

Mcpherson, General 133, 137 

Meade, G. G 191, 198, 203-212, 220 

Mechanicsville 174 

Mem])his 91 , 96 

iNIerrimac 46-49 

Merritt, General 217 

Mexican AVar 14 

Miles, Dixon H 190 

:Milford 63 

Millen 150 

Milliken's Bend 95,96 

M\\\ Spring 68 

Milroy, K. H 203 

Mine Creek 67 

Mine explosion 223 

^Minnesota, The 48 

Missionary Ridge 123, 130 

jMississip|)i, Opening of 82-103 

Missouri 57-67 

IVIissouri Coni])roniise 12-14, 19 

Mitchell, O. M 75 

]\Iol)ile Bay •)5 

IVIonitor 46-49 

Montgomery 26. 31 



INDEX. 281 

Montgomery, Commodore 91 

Moore, Colonel 114 

Morgan , Fort 55 

Morgan, John H 105, 112-117 

Morrell, General 175 ' 

Morrill tariff 254 

Morris Island 55 

Moultrie, Fort 29 

Mulligan, Colonel James 61 

Mumford, William B 89 

Murfreesboro 108-112 

Murphy, R. C 93 

Mustering out 268 

Nashville 73, 74, 141, 145-148 

Nassau 40, 44 

Natchez 90 

National banking system ; 260-262 

National debt 253, 263 

Naval war 36-49 

Nelson , General 105 

Newbern 52 

New Hope Church 134 

New IMadrid 83, 84 

New Market 227 

New Mexico 54 

New Orleans 85-89 

Newport News 47 

Norfolk 38, 39,48 

North Anna 218 

Northwest Territory 12 

Objects of the navy 38 

Olustee 251 

Omnibus bill 15, 16 

Opdycke, General 145 

Ord, General 80, 81 

Osterhaus, P. G 149 

Owen , General 215 

Paine's Crossroads 244 

Pamlico Sound 52 



2S2 



INDEX. 



Patterson , Kobert 33 

Peace Oomniissions 235-236 

Pea Ridge 63, 64 

Pegram, General 215 

Pemberton, General 81, 93-101 

Pensacola * 39, 51, 53 

Perry ville 106 

Petersburg 21S. 222-248 

Philii)pi 32 

Pickens, Fort 51 

Pickett, General 208, 215 

Piedmont 228 

Pike, Albert 63 

Pillow, Fort 90 

Pillow, General 73 

Pipe Creek 206 

Pittsburg Landing 74-77 

Pleasant Hill 250 

Pleasonton, General 66, 123, 199,210 

Pocotaligo 156 

Point Isabel 103 

Polk, Bishop 104, 107, 118 

Pope, John 63, 74, 78, 79, 83-85, 181-187 

Porter, Commodore 88, 95, 97, 161, 248 

Porter, Fitz John 168, 175, 177 

Port Gibson 98 

Port Hudson 101-103 

Port Royal 51. 164,217 

Prairie Grove 65 

Prentiss, General 66, 75, 101 

Price, Sterling .57, 61, 64, 66, 67, 75, 79 

Pulaski 143 

Pulaski, Fort 53 

Puritans 9 

(^lantrell raid 65 

Railroads, Destruction of 150 

Raleigh 163 

Raj^idan 213 

Raymond 98 



INDEX. 283 

Read, Thomas Buchanan 234 

Reagan, John H 265 

Ream's Station 226 

Republican party 23 

Resaca 133, 134 

Revenue 253 

Reynolds, John F 198, 207 

Richmond 31, 165, 218, 221-248 

Rich Mountain 32 

Roanoke Island 51, 52 

Rosecrans, AV. S 32, 66, 79, 80, 108-117 

Sabine Cross-Roads 250 

Sabine Pass 252 

Sailor's Creek 244 

San Jacinto .' 42 

Savage Station . 176 

Savannah 153 

Schofield, G. M 64, 142-145, 160-162 

Scott, Dred 18, 19 

Scott, Winfield 33, 165 

Sea Islands 51 

Secession 25, 26 

Sedgwick, General 198-201, 213, 215 

Seminary Ridge 209 

Semmes, Captain 41, 45, 104 

Seven Days' Battle 174-179 

Seven Pines , 172 

Seymore, Truman 251 

Shenandoah Valley 169, 193, 203, 230-234 

Sheridan, Philip H 217, 227-234,238 

Sherman, Thomas W 51, 154 

Sherman, W. T 76, 80, 83, 94, 101, 128-131, 132-164 

Shields, General 169 

Shiloh 74-77 

Ship Island 86 

Shreveport 249, 250 

Sibley, General 54 

Sickles, General > 198-201, 207 

Sigel, Franz 58, 59, 183,227 

Slavery 10 



284 INDEX. 

Slidell, John 42 

Slocum, Henry AV 149, 162, 163, 177, 198 

Smith. A. J 146, 249 

Smith, Kirby 34. 75, 105. 164. 249,250 

Smith. W. F 218, 220, 222 

South ]Mountain 189 

Spottsylvania Court House 215 

Stanley, General 142 

State rights 7. K 

Stedman, Fort 23s 

Steedman, J. B 146 

Steele, General 249, 251 

Stephens, Alexander H 26 

Stevens, Isaac Ingalls 185 

Stewart, George H 216 

Stoneman, General 137, 174, 198 

Stowe, Harriet Beecher 21 

Streight, Colonel 252 

Stuart, J. E. B 173. 192, 217 

Sturgis, Major 61 

Sumner, General 171, 191 

Sumter, Fort 29, 30, 55, 158, 164 

Sumter, The 41 

Supplying the army 151 

St. Louis 66 

St. Philip 86 

Taylor, Dick 143, 250 

Taylor, General 56 

Terry, General 160, 161 

Thacher, Admiral 56 

Thayer, Eli 17 

The Alabama 45 

The Florida : 43, 44 

The Navy of 1861 37 

The Sumter 41 

Thomas, George H 68, 106, 123-131 , 142-148 

Thoroughfare Gaj) 183 

Tilghman, General 71 

Tiptonville 85 



INDEX. 285 

Treasury notes 255 

Trent affair 42, 43 

Tullahoma 143 

Tupelo 104, 148 

Vanderbilt, Cornelius 266 

Van Dorn, Earl 63, 64, 75, 79, 81 

Vicksburg, first attack 90 

Vicksburg, second attack 92 

Vicksburg, third attack 96-101 

Wachusett 44 

AVadsworth, James S 215 

Wagner, Fort 55 

Walker, Fort 51 

Wallace, Lew 75, 77, 106, 229 

Warren, George S 213, 219, 225,240 

Warrenton 193 

Washington 170 

Webb, General 215 

Weldon Railroad 225 

West Indies 40 

Westport 66 

AVest Virginia 32, 33 

Wheeler, General 129 

AVhipple, General 201 

White House 217, 238 

White House Landing 168, 174 

White Oak Swamp 176, 177 

Whitney, Eli 10 

Whittier, John G 20 

Wilderness 214 

Wilkes, Captain 42 

Williams, A. S 90, 96, 149 

Williamsburg 167 

Wilmington 162 

AVilmot Proviso 15 

Wilson , General 217 

Wilson's Creek 59 

Winchester 231, 233, 234 



286 INDEX. 

Wise, H. A 52 

Wright, H. (t 53, 215, 219, 229. 233 

York 205 

York river 217 

Yorktown 166 

Zollicoffer, F. K 68, 69 



NOV 13 1899 



j^- 



.^■" 



.0 o. 



